Critical
by jumpthenfallx
Summary: Nick and Miley have been best friends for years. All of a sudden, they've started to have different feelings for each other. Feelings they never used to have. Things get difficult when Nick gets a new girlfriend and he begins to spend time with her.
1. Chapter 1

On the first day of summer, Miley woke up to the feeling of something shaking her and yelling her name in her ear. She kicked her best friend Nick gently in the stomach and rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Eight." His cheery voice confused her. How could anyone be that happy at eight o'clock in the morning?

"Nicholas. It's eight o'clock and it's summer. What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

Nick shrugged and sat down on her bed. "I was bored so I came round here. Your mom let me in. She gave me pancakes too! They were good."

"Don't I get pancakes?" she asked.

"Nope. I ate them."

Miley whacked Nick over the head. "OW!" Miley glared at him.

"I want pancakes, asshole. YOU ATE MY FREAKING PANCAKES!"

Nick glared at her. "Gosh, you sure aren't a morning person. There's some more downstairs."

Miley shoved him off her bed and practically ran downstairs to the kitchen. She hopped onto a stool at the counter in the middle and smiled at her mother.

"Mommy? Nick said there's pancakes. Can I have some?" she asked sweetly.

Her mother shook her head with a smile on her face and sat a plate of pancakes in front of her daughter. "I knew you'd be down as soon as he told you. You never could stand it if he got something you didn't."

"So true," Nick said as he walked in. "By the way, your daughter is extremely violent. She really needs to become a morning person like myself."

Miley glared at him as she chewed. He was really annoying when he was happy.

Miley's mother smiled and shook her head. "Always has been. Just ask Jackson." She picked up a pile of laundry and walked out to the back room of the house.

"What's got you so cheery this morning anyway?" she asked.

Nick looked at her with a smug smile on his face. "I, my friend, have got a date tonight with a gorgeous girl," he replied.

Miley started laughing. "No, seriously. What's up?"

Nick looked at her seriously. "I am being serious. I have a date with Selena tonight. Ask Joe. He hasn't heard the end of it."

Miley shook her head. "How the hell did YOU get a date with SELENA? I mean, you don't exactly seem like her type. And she certainly doesn't seem like yours. Don't you normally go for the type with an actual brain?"

"I go for hot, sweetheart," Nick replied, patting Miley on the shoulder. "Don't be jealous, Mi. You'll find someone eventually."

Miley laughed. "I don't need a guy to be happy. Unlike you, I can go two days without making out with someone. Plus, I don't ogle guys every second of the day like you do."

Nick smirked. "Sorry to break it to you, but I don't ogle guys, Miles."

"You know what I mean, smartass."

"Miley, come on. Please be happy for me. This is Selena I'm going on a date with. Do you know how many guys would KILL to get a date with her? I'm one of the lucky ones. She's the hottest girl in school. So can you please just TRY to be happy for me?"

Miley sighed. "I am happy for you, Nick. I am. I just ... I don't want you to get hurt. Like you said, this is Selena you're going on a date with. You don't know the things people say about her in the locker rooms in gym class. She's a whore. She'll date you for a week and throw you away like garbage. I don't want you to get hurt. Nick, you're my best friend, you know that. Just promise me you won't fall for her too hard just to get your heart broken."

Nick smirked. "Listen to you, being all soppy."

Miley hit him. "Are you being freaking serious? I was being a good best friend and you call me soppy!" She turned back to her pancakes and continued eating.

"Aw, Miles, come on, I was kidding!" Nick hugged her from the side. "You know I love you." He pinched her cheek like an old woman, only for her to swat him away.

Nick smiled. "And I know you love me too, bestie!" When she didn't reply, he squeezed her side. She squealed and turned to look at him. "Hurry up and eat, fat ass. I'm taking you to the beach."

Miley raised her eyebrows. "And why would that be?"

"Well, Joe got dumped the other night. He said to get you and Demi to meet him there because you two are hot and apparently it would make him feel a lot better to see the both of you in bikinis."

Miley laughed. "We are not letting your brother stare at our bodies just because his girlfriend broke up with him."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, he doesn't really care about seeing you. He just wants to see Demi. You know how he feels about her. Look, I didn't tell you this, but the reason Sam dumped him is because she thought that he was a bit too friendly with Demi. She told him that she didn't want to come in second best all the time, so she dumped him," Nick replied.

Miley jumped off her stool and started walking towards the stairs again. "I can't believe Sam actually said that to him. I don't think anyone's ever been so honest with Joe," she said.

Nick raised his eyebrows. "You think what she said was a bad thing?"

Miley shook her head. "No. It was definitely a good thing. I just didn't think any girl would actually say what they thought about Joe and Demi's friendship. Like, I know all the girls Joe has dated have thought that he was too close with Demi, but I know for a fact that none of the rest of them have ever voiced their opinions on it. I admire Sam for that."

Nick nodded. "So do I, actually. Joe's obviously been with quite a few girls. They all think he spends way too much time with Demi when he's dating another girl, but they all like him so much that they don't want to lose him and so then don't say what they think," he replied.

Miley smiled at Nick. "Aw, listen to you being all soppy," she mocked.

Nick grinned and nudged Miley with his elbow. "Shut up and go get dressed, short stuff."

Miley smiled wider and hit Nick's arm before going upstairs to get dressed. Nick watched her walk across the landing and into her bedroom before sitting down on the stairs and taking out his phone to see he had a text from Selena. He smiled to himself and opened it.

_Hey, Nicky. Can't wait for tonight. Pick me up at 8? Love Selena._

Nick smiled wider, texted back a quick 'sure', and stood up. He looked up the stairs and called, "Miley? I'll be in the car." He opened the front door and walked down the driveway to his car. He got in the driver's seat and began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel.

About twenty minutes later, Miley rushed out of the house. She was carrying a bag with a towel, magazine, sun lotion in it, among other things. She had her sunglasses resting on her head and she was tying her hair up into a messy bun. She opened the passenger door and put on her seatbelt.

"I texted Demi and told her we'd pick her up in ten," she said.

Nick nodded and started driving. "Joe said to this morning that he'd meet us there at noon," he replied.

Miley nodded in reply and turned on Nick's radio. A Taylor Swift song came on and she started to sing along. Nick looked over at her with a smile on his face. Miley looked at him and stopped singing.

"What?" she asked, smiling.

Nick shook his head and turned his attention back to the road.

"Nothing."

"Nicholas."

"Just ... you always could sing."

Miley blushed and looked out the window. After a while, she looked back at Nick. "What about you, hm? I thought you were the music man around this town."

This time, it was Nick's turn to blush. "I like music. So what?"

Miley grinned at him. "Come on, Nick. Everyone knows you're pretty amazing. You're great at the guitar and piano. You sing. You write your own songs. That's hard to come by these days."

"What would 'that' be?" Nick asked, smiling.

"Someone who doesn't pay other people to write their own songs. Someone who can actually play their own instrument. Someone who doesn't need their voice to be completely changed by technology."

Nick blushed again. "Miley, I'm not that good."

Miley rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. But every girl loves a musician. Maybe even Selena," she said.

Nick looked at Miley with wide eyes. "You're actually encouraging me and Selena?"

"Uh, no, Nicholas, I'm 'encouraging' you two. I'm just acknowledging the fact that you obviously really like her and so I'm going to accept it, just like you said," she replied.

"Didn't you say she was going to hurt me and throw me away like garbage?"

Miley dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "Details, details. Unimportant. What I'm saying is that I'm happy for you." She felt a slight twinge in the pit of her stomach as she lied to her best friend's face. She wasn't happy. In truth, she actually hated the fact that Nick and _Selena_ were going on a date. It made her feel sick, and she wasn't even sure why. It's not that she liked Nick, because she didn't ... or did she? She didn't even know anymore.

Nick looked over at Miley again. He put a hand to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? Because the Miley I know would never admit that she's actually happy for me for getting a date with Selena."

Miley swatted his hand away and looked at the window. What on earth was wrong with her this morning? She sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah," she replied. "I'm feeling fine."

Ten minutes later, they were sitting outside Demi's house, waiting for her to come out. Suddenly, Demi's white front door slammed. They turned and looked out Miley's window. Demi was running out of the house like Miley had been. She was carrying her flip flops and a bag. Her hair was in a plait and she had her phone in her hand. She quickly applying her lip gloss with her free hand as she rushed.

She climbed into the car through one of the open back seat windows and sighed. "S'up, dudes?"

Nick turned and glared at her. "You seriously climbed through Petunia's window? Seriously, Dem? You could have hurt her!"

Demi looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "You seriously named your car Petunia?" she replied.

Nick gave her another dirty look and turned back to the steering wheel before starting to drive again. Miley turned to Demi and grinned. "Hey, Dem," she said.

Demi smiled at Miley and put her lip gloss back her bag. "Hey, Miles. What's up?"

Miley glanced over to Nick and started laughing. "Nicky here has a date with Selena tonight."

Demi, who at that moment had been taking a drink from her bottle of Diet Coke, choked on her drink. Miley reached in and patted Demi on the back. When she got herself together again, she looked at Nick through the rear view mirror.

"_You _have a _date_ with _Selena_? When the hell did this happen? More importantly, _how_ did this happen? Isn't she into guys on the football and basketball teams?" she asked, shocked.

Nick shrugged. "I asked her out and she said yes."

"Nick, Demi has a point. No offence, but someone like Selena doesn't just say yes to a guy like you," Miley said.

Nick sighed. "Thanks for all the support, ladies. I love you too."

Miley glanced in at Demi and sighed. "Listen, we're sorry. We just don't see why a dirty rotten whore like Selena would date a good, honest guy like you."

Nick glanced over at Miley and raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were happy for me?"

Miley shrugged and folded her arms. "Old habits die hard."

Nick pulled into a spot in the parking lot across the street from the beach and opened his door. "Forget it. I knew you two wouldn't be happy. I knew nobody would believe that I actually got a date with Selena." He slammed his car door, got a towel out of the trunk, and walked across the street.

Miley looked at Demi and bit her lip. "We messed up."

Demi nodded and grabbed her bag. She slipped on her flip flops and opened the door. "Come on. Let's go talk to him. Tell him we didn't mean to upset him."

Miley nodded. They both got out of the car with their things and walked down to the beach. Nick was sitting on his towel. Joe, who was already there, was sitting beside him. They were talking to each other and laughing.

"They both seem to change their tunes. I mean, Joe's been dumped and Nick was just really offended," Demi mumbled.

Miley smiled and pulled Demi down towards the boys. When they got down, Miley jumped on top of Nick. "I'm sorryyyy!" she yelled. Just then, she realised she was lying right on top of him and he was staring at her. She stared back at him for a moment, then looked away. She really didn't know what was up with her. She got off him and dusted the sand off her.

Nick coughed awkwardly and looked at the sand. "Uh, it's okay."

"Well," Demi said. "You boys coming into the water?" she asked.

She and Miley both pulled off their shorts and shirts, revealing their bikinis. Miley's was wearing a black bikini and Demi's was red.

"Of course we are," Joe replied. He pulled off his shirt and bent down. "Jump on," he said to Demi. Demi jumped on Joe's back. Nick stood up and pulled off his shirt. Miley smiled at him and all four of them walked down to the water.

Joe 'accidentally' dropped Demi into the water. Demi screamed as she hit the cold waves. When she surfaced, she glared at Joe, who was grinning at her. Miley laughed and went under the water. Nick looked around for her. All of a sudden, he felt a tug at his ankles and he fell into the water.

He surfaced and saw that Miley, too, had resurfaced. She was grinning at him, much like the grin Joe had given Demi. Nick tackled her into the water. He opened his eyes in the water and saw Miley smiling at him. He smiled back at her. For a few moments, they were just staring at each other in the water. Suddenly, Nick realised he was still holding onto Miley after tackling her.

Nick quickly let go and surfaced for air. He looked over at Joe and said, "I'm going to get a bottle of water from my car." He quickly left the water and rushed towards his car across the street. He grabbed a bottle of water from the trunk.

He didn't quite understand what was happening to him. He had liked Selena for years. Now he finally had a date with her and he was staring at Miley and feeling ... different around her. Miley was his best friend. He saw her as a sister. He couldn't like her, could he? Even so, it wasn't like she liked him back, right?

He gulped down his bottle of water quickly and threw the empty bottle back into the trunk. He looked at his phone, which was sitting in the front seat cup holder. He saw another text from Selena.

_Hey, saw on Facebook that you guys are all at the beach. Thought I'd join so I'm on my way down. See you soon x_

He threw his phone back into the car and slammed the door. He didn't want Selena to come. He always had a personal rule when it came to girls – They had to get along with his friends, but they shouldn't come to things that he was doing with his friends. He wanted to draw a line between things he did with a girl and things he did with his friends. He didn't even know why. He just didn't really want to be one of those guys who was always doing things with a girl he knew he most likely wouldn't fall in love with or marry. He also wanted to have his own friends if it ended badly. He didn't want to still have to be friends with his ex if someone cheated on someone else or something like that.

He walked back to the beach slowly with his hands in the pockets of his swim shorts as he stared out at the ocean. He noticed that Demi, Joe and Miley and left the water and were now lying on their towels on the sand. Joe and Demi were flirting as Miley flicked through a magazine.

Nick sat down on his towel beside Joe. "Hey," she said.

Demi smiled at Nick. "Hey. You alright? You left pretty quickly. I didn't even know until I heard Miles ask Joe."

Nick nodded. "I'm fine. Just went for a drink. Um, when I was at my car I had a text from Selena. She's on her way here."

Miley rolled her eyes and turned on her side. "What happened to your rule? What, doesn't it apply to Little Miss Perfect?" she asked.

"Miley!" Joe warned.

Miley shook her head and sat up. "No, Joe. Look, Nick, I'm happy for you that you're dating her and all, but what the hell is up with you? You have a rule. You always say that you don't want your girlfriends to hang out with your friends unless you know you'll fall in love with them or marry them."

"Miley, cool it," Demi said.

Nick was getting angry. He shook his head at Demi. "No, it's okay, Dem. I want to hear this. Why the hell does it matter to you, Miley?"

"Because in case you didn't guess, _Nicholas_, I don't want to be friends with Selena." Miley stood up and grabbed her bag and towel. "So, I'm leaving. I want nothing to do with her." She turned on her heel and walked quickly towards the steps which led back to the main road.

Demi bit her lip and looked at Nick. "Nick, did you invite Selena? Because if you did, why? You know Miley's not fully happy about this. She's really trying to be happy for you, but she doesn't want Selena to hurt you."

"No, I didn't invite Selena. She invited herself. Apparently she saw Joe's Facebook post or something. I don't know." He sighed and stood up. "I should go talk to Miley."

Joe nodded. "Go ahead, bro," he said.

Nick walked across the sand and started climbing the steps. He saw Miley walking along the pavement across the street with an angry look on her face. He was about to run over to her when he felt a hand grab his arm.

He turned around and saw Selena grinning at him. "Hey, babe!" She looked where Nick had been going and sighed. "I saw her too. I didn't know what was going on. I tried to say hi, but she just walked on. I don't know what's up with her."

Nick nodded and glanced at Miley's retreating figure. She was about to turn the corner. It was his last chance to follow her. He turned back to Selena and smiled.

"Let's go back to Joe and Demi," he said.

**Author's Note:**** Hey, guys. In case you didn't see the AN I posted on I'm Yours, I'm back again! So, hi. In case you don't know who I am or this is your first time reading my work, then hi, I'm Charlotte. So this is my new story. The song I got the idea from was Critical from Jonas LA. I don't actually watch the TV show but I bought the soundtrack. If you listen to the song, you'll kind of see how it relates to the story over time. In about the middle, you'll start to see how it relates. There's one line that will relate to the story throughout – **_Used to have everything figured out but it's different now._** It relates because, like, Nick and Miley had everything figured out before. They were best friends, nothing more, nothing less. But now they're having these new feelings and they don't really know what to do, especially because Nick's got a new girlfriend. So, yup, that's how that song relates to this. I hope you enjoy reading it. Please review and tell me what you think. It'd mean a lot to me. Thanks, dudes (:C**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, dudes (: I enjoy reading your opinions. **

Miley stormed into her house, slamming the front door. Jackson heard the door slam and walked out of the kitchen, his mouth full and a half-eaten sandwich in his hand.

"What's up? I thought you were at the beach?" he asked after he swallowed his food.

Miley threw her bag onto the floor and walked into the living room. She flopped down on the couch and sighed. "I got into a fight with Nick about his new girlfriend," she replied.

Jackson sat on the coffee table across from his little sister and looked at her. "Nick has a girlfriend? Who?" he asked. He took another bite of his sandwich and quickly chewed and swallowed it.

"Selena," Miley replied coldly.

Jackson's jaw dropped and he stared at Miley. "Nick's dating _Selena_?" he exclaimed.

Miley sighed and nodded. She picked up her iPhone and began to text Demi to apologise for leaving so abruptly.

"How the hell did Nick get Selena? I asked her out in senior year but she turned me down! And I was a freaking senior!"

Miley rolled her eyes and put her phone down after sending the text to Demi. "Does it matter how Nick got her? He got her and that's that. End of story," she snapped.

Jackson put up his hand. "Geez, calm down. Jealous much?"

"I. Am. Not. Jealous," Miley growled.

"Sure, sis, keep thinking that," Jackson replied.

"URGHH. I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Miley screamed. She angrily threw the TV remote at the wall.

Jackson looked at her with wide eyes. "Okay, okay, you aren't jealous, just please don't hurt me," he pleaded.

Miley sighed and looked down at her lap. Tears blurred her vision. She didn't know what was happening to her. She didn't want to be jealous of Selena and Nick. She wanted to be happy for them. She wanted to be happy that her best friend was happy. But she just couldn't bring herself to feel that way, no matter how much she wanted to.

Jackson sat down on the couch beside Miley and put an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong, Miles? All anyone has to do is look at you and they'll know that you're hurting," he said. He sighed and pulled her closer. "Just let me in and tell me, sis."

Miley burst into tears and buried her face in his shoulder. "I was a bitch to Nick about Selena and now he hates me," she sobbed.

Jackson stroked his sister's hair and rubbed her back. "Calm down. Nick could never hate you. You two have been best friends for as long as I can remember. So Nick's got a new girlfriend. So what? If you're worried that he'll forget about you, then you don't have to. He'll never forget you. You've been there for him for years."

Miley stayed silent. Maybe that was all she was worried about. Maybe that twinge in her stomach she felt whenever she mentioned Nick and Selena's names together was just worry. She certainly didn't want to lose Nick. She sighed in relief and wiped her tears.

"I guess so. Thanks, Jackson," she said softly.

Jackson smiled and patted her shoulder. "No problem, Miles," he replied. He stood up and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I have to get back to the apartment. Sara's waiting for me. Tell Mom I'll call her later." He smiled at his sister again and walked towards the front door. "Bye, Miles!" he called.

After a few moments, Miley heard the front door slam and the sound of Jackson's car driving away down the street. She sighed and stood up. She walked over to the stairs and went up to her bedroom. When she closed the door, she walked over to the window seat and sat down. She stared out the window with her knees pulled up close to her. She rested her chin on her knees and glanced down at the screen of her phone.

Demi was calling.

Miley answered, her voice soft and gentle. "Hey, Demi."

"Joe and I left Selena and Nick at the beach. She was all over him. It was disgusting. ANYWAY, that's not why I called you. I called you because I thought you might like to know that Nick's really sorry and he regrets letting you leave, and he regrets letting Selena come."

Miley sighed. "If Nick's so sorry, then why is he the one that's still at the beach? Anyway, it doesn't matter. It was my fault. I overreacted. It's just been an ... odd day," she replied.

Demi was silent for a second. "Joe and I are in the car. I can get him to drop me off at yours if you want," she said. Miley knew that Demi could hear the sadness in her voice.

"No, it's okay. You stay with Joe. It's fine. I know you want to spend time with him. I mean, he's single for once in his life and he's with you. Go for it, Dem. Seriously. You and Joe are perfect for each other," Miley said.

"Don't change the subject to Joe and I, Miley. Right, that's it. I don't care what you say. I'm coming over. Is your mom there?" she asked.

"No, she's out. Jackson just left. Dad's at work. Why?"

"Because I need to know if I need my key. Duh," Demi replied.

Miley raised her eyebrows, even though Demi couldn't see her. "Uh, Dem? How did you get a key to my house?" she asked.

"Because I stole Nick's and got one cut for me. Bringing me back to duh," Demi replied.

Miley shook her head. "How did Nick get a key?"

"He stole yours and got one cut for himself. Don't make me say duh again, Miles," Demi said.

Miley laughed. "Okay. See you soon," she said. She hung up and went into her bathroom. Her make up was a mess. She grabbed a wipe and cleaned all the make up off her face. She threw the wipe into the bin and took a deep breath. Her eyes were still a bit red and puffy, but otherwise she looked okay.

She went back to sit at the window seat when she heard the front door shut and a pair of footsteps run up the stairs and across the landing. After a few seconds, Demi burst through Miley's bedroom door and grinned.

"Hello!" she exclaimed.

Miley laughed and moved her feet to make room for Demi. Demi flopped down beside Miley and looked at her.

"Okay, I didn't come here for nothing, so I'll just ask the question Joe and I asked ourselves the whole way here. What the hell is going on between you and Nick today? You were staring at each other really weirdly at the beach. Then you got all jealous and protective over him when he told us Selena was coming. Then he went after you but came back with Selena. So what the freaking hell is going on?" she asked.

Miley sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I woke up this morning and it was fine. He was here, yelling in my ear. Then we went down for some food and he told me about Selena and it just felt weird. I got this weird feeling but I kind of pushed it away. Then we were talking in the car and I got the feeling again. Then we had all these weird moments and I guess it got to me. I don't know if I like him or if I'm just scared he'll forget about me and ditch me for Selena all the time," she said.

Demi sighed and put a hand over Miley's shoulder. "Miley, sweetie, first of all, you know Nick will never, ever ditch you for Selena. He was off with her the whole time after you left. She kept trying to kiss him and, like, straddle him like he was a freaking horse, but he kept pushing her off. He didn't even care that Joe told him it could lose his only shot with Selena. He was too busy thinking about YOU. Also, if you like Nick, then thank _God_. We've been waiting for the two of you to admit it for years. I mean, the way you two just look at each other is something that puts all my relationships to shame," she said.

Miley smiled to herself. "Really?" she asked.

Demi nodded. "I was telling the truth about it all. He was thinking about you the whole time after you left. And you two obviously like each other. Even if neither of you realise it," she replied.

Miley looked over at Demi. "Dem? Why do I feel like such a bitch?"

"No offence, sweetie, but you were one. You went all crazy psycho bitch on Nick. Screw his rule. That means that when he finally grows some balls he'll admit that he's crazy for you and then you two will spend every waking moment together and we can still be besties!" Demi said simply.

Miley looked at Demi, searching for the look that meant she was joking, but Demi's expression showed that she was deadly serious.

Miley let out a giggle. "Dem, chill. Nobody even said Nick likes me," she said.

Demi waved her hand. "Miles, all anyone has to do is look at the boy to see he's crazy for you. Even if he refuses to admit to anymore."

Miley smiled again. "Thanks, Demi. That means a lot," she said. She opened her arms and Demi hugged her tightly.

"I'll always be here for you, Miles. Never, ever forget that," she whispered. Miley nodded and pulled away.

"I think I owe Nick an apology," she said. She picked up her phone and dialled Nick's number. After about three or four rings, he answered with a cheery tone to his voice.

"Hello?"

"Nick? It's me ... Miley," she said.

Nick was quiet for a minute or two. "Hey, Miles. Um, what do you need?"

"I wanted to apologise. I overreacted at the beach about Selena. I should be happy for you. I was being a moody bitch. So I'm really sorry. Want to come over and watch a movie tomorrow night?" she asked.

"It's okay, Miles. I get it. I really do. And tomorrow night I'm going bowling with Selena and a few of her friends. How about the night after?" he asked.

"Can't," she replied. "Jackson and Sara's engagement party."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Um, night after that?" he asked.

"Leah's party. Forget it, Nick, we'll just do it some other time. It's fine. You still up for movie night with Demi and Joe on Friday?" she asked.

"Shit. I forgot. I'm so sorry, Miles. I'm taking Selena out to dinner that night too. I'll make it up to you, I swear. Speaking of Selena, I have to go pick her up again for our date. I'll call you later. Bye," he said. Before Miley could say anything, he hung up.

"He hung up on me to pick Selena up again for their date. And he's ditching movie night on Friday for another date with her," she said.

Demi's jaw dropped. "WHAT? Why the hell is he ditching? We've had a movie night every Friday night for the past five years. The first time he ditches us, it's for HER? What's going through his head?" she exclaimed.

Miley shrugged. "I guess I understand. Every guy in school wants her. Even my brother asked her out before he graduated and met Sara. I don't really see why everyone loves her so much. I see nothing special when I look at her."

"In all fairness, she was the first girl in our grade to wear a bra. And she was the tallest until you and I had our growth spurts," Demi replied.

Miley glared at her. "Who's side are you on?"

Demi gave her a stern look. "I'm not choosing sides between one of my best friends and someone I don't even know that well. That isn't fair on Selena," she said.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever," she said. She stood up and walked into her walk-in closet. "I need to find something to wear tonight," she said.

Demi followed her in and leaned against the door frame. "What's tonight?" she asked curiously.

Miley smiled slightly at her from her rail of black clothes. "We have a couple to spy on," she replied.

Three hours later, Demi, Miley and Joe were all crouched behind a bush, dressed in black. Joe fell back again and steadied himself with his hands.

"I can't believe you two talked me into spying on my own brother!" he hissed.

"Shut up, they're coming!"

They all crouched down further and watched through the bushes as Nick and Selena walked along the path in the park, hand in hand. It was starting to get dark, setting a nice light on the lake in front of the path.

Nick and Selena sat down on the bench in front of the bush. "Shit," Demi murmured.

Nick nervously put an arm around Selena. Selena smiled up at him and rested her head on his shoulder. They both looked out at the lake.

"Nick?" Selena's soft voice was the only noise that could be heard in the park, apart from the birds rustling in the trees above. "I'm having a really good time tonight."

Nick smiled down at her. "I am too. You know, I think that Joe and the girls thought that tonight would be a disaster. According to them, you're not my type and I'm not yours."

Selena frowned slightly. "You have a type?" she asked.

"My type is smart, funny, beautiful girls," he replied.

Selena slapped his arm playfully and smiled. "Stop being so corny," she giggled.

Miley pretended to vomit. Demi hit her and continued watching Selena and Nick out on the bench.

"Oh my God," Joe whispered.

Selena and Nick were slowly but surely leaning in towards each other for a kiss. Selena's hand moved to Nick's hair just as their lips were centimetres apart. Then, their lips touched. Miley watched as Selena deepened it.

Suddenly, she felt that familiar twinge in the pit of her stomach. Except, this time, it was different. It wasn't just a twinge.

In that moment, Miley turned around and vomited over the grass behind her.

Nick dropped Miley and Demi off at Miley's house. He didn't say anything. He just stared straight in front of him.

"Nick ..." Demi said, but Nick ignored her. She tugged at his t-shirt and he turned. Miley was fast asleep on Demi's shoulder. "I can't lift her. Can you carry her in?" she asked.

Nick sighed and nodded. He got out and opened Miley's door. He gently picked her up. Demi got out and rushed ahead to open Miley's front door. Nick followed her in with Miley in his arms.

"I'll be right up," she said. "I'm just going to tell Miley's mom we're home and get a glass of water. You can just put her on her bed and leave. I'm pretty sure you don't want to spend much time with us right now ..." Demi looked down and walked into the kitchen.

Nick walked upstairs and gently opened Miley's door. He carefully put her down on her bed and turned to leave as quickly as he could. Suddenly, he heard a tired voice.

"Nick?"

He turned and saw Miley. She was awake again. She was pale and tired. He sighed and turned back to the door.

"Go back to sleep, Miley," he said.

"Nick, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have spied on you. It was wrong of us. But we just wanted to know that Selena was good for you," she said.

Nick grew angry and spun around to face her. "You wanted to know if she was good for me? You could have just taken my freaking word for it instead of _spying _on us. You know, Selena will probably never go out with me again because of your little stunt tonight! I had my chance with the girl everyone wants to be with, and you and your stupid little plan have fucked it up for me! Nice one, Miley. I really appreciate it," he spat.

Miley let a tear fall and sniffed. "Okay, I deserved that. But Nick, please just understand that we didn't want to hurt you. We didn't think you'd know. We were just looking through the bushes and then I couldn't help myself. I tried to stop but I couldn't. You think I wanted to vomit all over the freaking park right in front of you and Selena?"

Nick's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't have been in the park in the first place, Miley!"

"I'm _sorry_, okay? I never meant to hurt you. But seriously, stop making such a huge deal over this. It's not the end of the world, okay? Selena is going to date you and you two can go live happily ever after."

"What the hell is your problem?" Nick snapped.

"SELENA is my problem!" she yelled.

"God, Miley, grow up! Get over it! You've made your opinions on Selena perfectly clear already today! Are you freaking bipolar or something? On second you're telling me you're happy for me and the next you're freaking screaming at me about Selena! Make up your mind, Miley. Are you happy for me or not?"

"You know what, Nick? No. I'm not happy for you. Because I _know _that she's going to hurt you and there's nothing I can do about it," she replied.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Call me when you're ready to give up the jealous best friend act and accept the fact that I'm with Selena," he said. He yanked the door open, walked out, and slammed it after him. The sound of his feet thudding down the stairs and him slamming the front door shut. After a few moments, Demi walked in.

Miley wiped her tears and looked up at Demi.

Demi smiled at her slightly. "Hey. I heard the big fight. You okay?" she asked. She sat down on the side of the bed and looked over at Miley.

Miley shook her head as the tears came down more and more. Her vision was blurred. She looked down. "All I wanted was to make sure he knew what he was getting into. Now he hates me for trying to protect him," she whispered.

Demi hugged Miley tightly. "I know, sweetie. I know. Just take a deep breath and calm down, okay? It'll all be better in the morning. I promise. Tomorrow, just call Nick and apologise. It will all be fine. Trust me," she said soothingly.

Miley shook her head. "I really fucked it up," she whispered.

"No, you didn't. You were both angry. You both said things you didn't mean. Just call him in the morning to talk and it will all be okay. I promise you that. You mean the world to Nick. You've been best friends since you were in diapers. It will all be fine," Demi replied.

Miley sighed and shrugged. "Whatever you say," she replied. She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. "Let's watch a movie," she said. Demi nodded. Miley stood up and looked at all the DVDs on her shelves. "No romance. Screw Nick," she called over her shoulder. She pulled out Transformers and put it in the DVD player.

Demi laughed. "Since when did you like Transformers?" she asked.

"Since Shia LeBouf was in it. Duh," Miley replied, climbing onto the bed again.

Demi giggled and leaned against Miley's headboard. They both watched the screen. Miley turned to Demi and sighed.

"Dem?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Nick will forgive me?"

Demi smiled at Miley. "Of course, sweetie. He'll always forgive you, whether he wants to or not. Know why? He'll always have a special place in his heart for you."

Miley smiled. "Thanks," she said. She quickly hugged Demi and turned back to the screen.

Nick walked into his house and slammed the front door behind him. The first thing he noticed was Joe sitting on the staircase. When he saw Nick, Joe quickly stood up.

"Nick, I'm really sorry about earlier. It's just that Miley and Demi were worried about you. They wanted to make sure Selena was good for you. They had your best intentions at heart. Then they needed a ride and made me tag along in case they needed to sit on somebody's shoulders or something. I'm really sorry," he said.

Nick shook his head. "Forget it," he muttered, walking upstairs.

Joe went to follow him, but Nick turned and stopped him. "Please don't. It's been a crappy night and I just need some time to myself to think things through," he said softly.

Joe nodded. "Of course. Take your time," he said. He watched as Nick climbed the stairs. "I love you, bro!" he called, but he got no response. Instead, all he heard was Nick's bedroom door slamming shut and the sound of Nick's guitar.

**Author's Note:**** Hey dudes. So I was thinking about some things about this story. Obviously, Miley has Jackson as a brother. In case anyone was wondering, in this, her mother is still alive. Her dad won't be appearing much because he works a lot. I listen to 'Critical' when I write this. I think it's a great song. I feel I can relate to it. It kind of reminds me of some personal experiences I've been through. Also someone in the reviews couldn't believe that I don't watch Jonas LA, lol. Sorry! It's just not my sort of thing. I don't really watch Disney Channel anymore. I'm into stuff like One Tree Hill, 90210, Gossip Girl, stuff like that. No offence to anyone my age that still watches Disney Channel, but I've outgrown the shows. I only really listen to the music now. Just to let you know, I opened a new Twitter account - LetItRainx. Check me out (: Thanks for reading. Review? It'd mean a lot to me. Thanks xx -C**


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning, Joe sat on a stool in Miley's kitchen. Miley was sitting on the counter and Demi was leaning against the wall.

"What are we going to do, guys? He's really upset about the whole spying incident last night," Joe said sadly. He was really upset about the fact that Nick was mad at them all. He hadn't said a word to Joe during breakfast.

Miley sighed and shrugged. "We've apologised. We can't do anything else. Anyway, I'm not really in the mood to talk to Nick," she said.

Joe looked over at her, confused. "Why? Did something happen when he dropped you guys off?"

Demi sighed and sat on the counter beside Miley. "She and Nick had a huge fight last night. And not like the time he told that guy she fucked every guy she saw because he knew that the guy was a player. It was worse. Something's going on between Nicholas and Miss Miley here."

Joe looked at Miley again. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Miley said, glaring at Demi.

Demi rolled her eyes. "Miley, this is Joe we're talking to. Who would he tell? I mean, he'll hardly tell Nick, seeing as he's not talking to any of us right now." Demi turned to Joe again. "She has a crush on Nick, just like we thought. Thing is, she refuses to tell him how she feels because she's scared he'll reject her."

"Demi!" Miley exclaimed.

"No, Miles, it's okay. I won't tell anyone," Joe said. "But seriously, I agree with Dem. I think you should tell Nick. You're making yourself miserable like this. You can't just watch him with Selena. How is that fair to anyone? What you have to do is tell him that you don't like Selena, and if he asks why, just say that it's because you like him," he continued.

Miley shook her head. "I can't tell him I don't like her. We've already had a huge fight about that, and I'm not going to have him scream at me again. Last night was bad enough. You two didn't see his face. He was so angry at me," she said.

"Nick was angry at us all. We shouldn't have spied, we know. But just give the boy some time. He'll be over it soon enough. Before you know it, things will be back to normal," Demi said.

Miley sighed. "I hope so."

There was a short silence which was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Miley jumped off the counter and walked into the front door. She didn't bother looking out the window to see who it was. She opened the door and was surprised at who she saw.

"Hello, Miley," Selena said.

She was wearing a pair of denim shorts with a plaid button-down shirt. She wore brown gladiator sandals on her feet. Her hair was in a plait to the side. She had a smile on her face, which surprised Miley even more. She didn't think that Selena would be smiling when she saw Miley.

"Hey, Selena. Um, may I ask what you're doing here?" she asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about yesterday," Selena replied casually.

"Uh, okay. Come on in. Joe and Demi are in the kitchen," Miley said. She stepped back to allow Selena in. Selena nodded and walked in. She followed the sound of Demi's voice. Miley took a deep breath and closed the door before following Selena in.

Miley walked in to see Selena perched on the stool beside Joe with her legs crossed and her hands resting in her lap. She was still smiling as she waited for Miley to join them. Demi was giving her a death glare and Joe was staring awkwardly at his lap.

Miley returned to her seat on the counter and turned to Selena. "What about yesterday?" she asked.

"Well," Selena began. "I think we got off to a bad start. When I passed you at the beach yesterday, you ignored me. I was wondering if something was wrong. Then I got to the beach and Nick seemed off. So I asked him what was wrong and he said he had a fight with you ... about me. Then last night you were spying on us while we were on our date. I was just wondering if you had a problem with my relationship with Nick."

"In all due respect, Selena, what happens between Nick, who, may I add, is my best friend, and I is between us. No offence, but I don't really want to discuss this with a girl I barely know," she said.

Selena's smile stayed on her face, but it faltered slightly. "I don't mean to intrude, I really don't. It's just that Nick seems uncomfortable, if you will, with this situation. I don't want him to feel that way. I want him to feel comfortable if I'm going to be in a relationship with him."

"Listen here, Little Miss -" Demi began, but Joe pinched her thigh, telling her to be quiet. Demi sighed and closed her mouth again.

Miley's eyes narrowed slightly at Selena. "Okay, Selena. Here's the deal. I'm not comfortable with the fact that you're with Nick when I know you'll break his heart. There's my opinion on it. But you know what? You'll be happy to know that Nick and I had a fight and he isn't speaking to me. So there you go. You got what you wanted. Nick's pissed at me. Now why don't you run off back to him and play happy couples?"

Selena stood up and flattened her shirt. She glared at Miley. "Okay, listen to me, bitch. _Nobody _speaks that way to me. Got that? I'll make this clear. You stay away from Nick from now on. You don't call him, you don't text him, you don't see him. Do you understand me?"

Miley rolled her eyes. "Who the hell are you to tell me I can't see Nick?"

Selena smirked smugly. "Whether you like it or not, sweetheart, I'm his girlfriend now. He'll pick me over you any day. In case you haven't noticed, Nick's one of the lucky ones. Your own brother asked me out, if I recall. Your so called best friend is just one of the ones I actually said yes to," she said.

With that, Selena turned on her heel and walked out of Miley's house. Miley covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head.

"What a bitch," Demi murmured.

At that moment, Joe's phone went off. He looked at it and sighed. "Uh, Nick's on his way over. He said he wants to talk to us about last night," he said. He put his phone on the counter again and leaned his elbows on the counter.

Miley sighed. "Whatever. Can't be worse than the Selena Experience. I swear to God, she should be in a freaking zoo."

Demi laughed. She jumped down from the counter. "Come on, dudes. Let's make Nick think we're having fun." She glanced over at Miley. "Especially you, Miles. It'll drive him crazy," she said. She grinned at Miley and grabbed her arm, pulling her off the counter.

The three of them walked out into the backyard and went to sit by the patio. Joe then lay down and looked up at the sky. "We should go to the pier. Jump off it like we used to when we were kids," he said casually.

Miley nodded. "I miss that," she said.

They were silent for a minute. The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel path around the side of Miley's house. The wooden gate to the back creaked open. Nick walked onto the grass and over to them. He sat on the wall around the patio.

"Hi," he said.

Demi and Joe both said hello to Nick, but Miley stayed silent. Nick looked over at her desperately and whispered her name. "Mi?" Miley looked over at him. Her eyes were cold and sad. He sighed and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Mi. I didn't mean what I said last night. I was just angry. I know you didn't deserve all the things I said, and for that I'm so sorry," he said. He searched her face for some kind of emotion, but her face stayed blank.

She looked up at him. "You should leave. Now."

Nick looked back at her, confused. "What? Why?"

Miley shrugged and went back inside. Demi sighed and stood up. "Your girlfriend told Miley to stay away from you. She said she didn't want Miley seeing you, calling you, texting you, anything. So sorry if Miley's a bit upset." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she said the last sentence.

Nick's jaw dropped. "What? Selena wouldn't do that. She's one of the nicest people I've met in a long time," he said.

Demi shrugged as she helped Joe up. "Maybe she is to you. But she came round here with this fake nice act, then Miley told her what she thought and Selena went all crazy-ass psycho bitch on Miley. She's a freaking nut, Nick. Date her if you want, okay? But by doing that, you may just lose Miley's friendship. She doesn't want anything to do with Selena after today." Demi turned on her heel and followed Miley inside.

Joe nodded and sighed. Nick looked over desperately at him, as if asking him to stay with him. Joe shook his head and went to follow the girls inside.

"Joe? Look, I'm sorry I blew up at Miley, and I'm sorry Selena came round here and yelled at her as well. But I can't control Selena's actions. Please let Miley know that."

Joe spun around. Nick searched his face for even a trace of sympathy, but there was none. The only emotion on Joe's face was anger.

"You know what, Nick? You're hurting her more and more, and it's been 24 hours since you told her you were dating Selena. You've been on one date with her and you're already starting fights with your best friend over her. You want Selena so badly? Fine. Go get her. But just know that by being with Selena you're most likely going to lose your best friend. Think about that, then decide if Selena's really worth it."

Joe then followed the girls into the house and slammed the door behind him. Nick sighed and buried his face in his hands. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to be with Selena, but he didn't want to lose his friends in the process of that.

He slowly got up the wall and went back around the front. He got into his car and sat there for a moment, looking up at Miley's house. He could see people moving at Miley's window, but he knew that they weren't looking at him. He couldn't look at it. He reversed out and drove away. As far away as he could go.

That night, Selena stood outside the bowling alley with her best friend, Taylor. Taylor was standing by the entrance, waiting for Selena to come in as well. Taylor walked over to Selena, who was standing at the edge of the curb, and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Selly? I don't think he's coming," she whispered.

Selena turned around and looked at Taylor. "He's coming," she said forcefully. "He promised me he'd come tonight. He said he wanted to meet my friends. He promised me." Her voice cracked slightly.

Taylor put an arm around Selena. "Maybe something else came up and his phone died. Don't worry. Just come inside. It's getting cold out here. You'll get sick." She tried to guide Selena inside, but she wouldn't budge. She just kept staring at the entrance to the parking lot.

Taylor sighed and hugged Selena.

Selena wiped away a tear and looked up at Taylor. "Tay? He'll never love me like he loves her, will he?" she asked. She sniffled and wiped another tear. "Like he loves Miley. He says he just sees her as a friend but everyone knows just by looking at him that he's practically in love with her." Selena let out a small sob and covered her face with her hands. "Why am I doing this to myself?"

Taylor took Selena by the shoulders and looked at her. "Selena, listen to me. You're beautiful. Every guy at school thinks so. Nick obviously likes you. He asked you out for a reason, not just for the hell of it. Who cares if he loves Miley? I look at that boy and, I admit, I can see that he loves her. But not in the way you think. He loves her like a sister. But he likes you like a girlfriend. Maybe it's only been two days, but I have a feeling that your relationship with Nick will be a good one." She smiled at her and winked. "Call him again. Talk to him. Maybe he's just been held up at his house."

Taylor smiled again. She turned around and walked inside, leaving Selena alone at the curb. Selena walked over to her car, dialling Nick's number as she went. Suddenly, her mood changed. She was now angry. _Nobody_ stood her up.

Miley, Demi and Joe were all squeezed together on the armchair which Miley's father usually occupied as he read his paper. Joe was on the bottom with Demi laying across his lap. Miley was sitting on Demi's shoulders. They were watching the first season of One Tree Hill.

"Why are we watching this?" Joe whined. He reached for the remote, but Miley threw it across the room so he couldn't get it.

"Because James Lafferty and Chad Michael Murray are the definition of gorgeous. Duh. Everyone knows that," Demi stated. She watched the screen as Nathan and Haley kissed. Joe rolled his eyes.

"This show sucks," he announced.

Miley reached down and whacked him over the head. "If you must know, this is one of the best television shows ever made, Joseph," she replied. The doorbell rang, and she stood up. She turned to Joe and narrowed her eyes. "Don't even think of turning this off," she said. She turned on her heel and walked out into the front hall.

She opened the front door and saw Nick standing there. He opened his mouth to speak, but Miley just slammed the door shut. He began to bang on the door.

"Miley, please just hear me out. I was angry. I should never have said those things. And Selena shouldn't have said anything to you either. It's not her place to decide who I can be friends with," he called through the mail slot.

Miley rolled her eyes. "I thought you had a bowling date with the she-devil tonight?" she replied.

"I ditched. I wanted to spend time with you, Demi and Joe."

Miley sighed and opened the door. She shook her head. "What are you doing here, Nick? Selena said you were one of the lucky ones when she came here this morning. And she's right. You are. So what the hell are you doing here when you can be with her?" she asked.

Nick shrugged and grinned at her. "I want to spend some time with my best friend. We haven't really done much of that since I told you about Selena. Can you forgive me?" he asked. He opened out his arms for a hug.

Miley paused and looked at him. He seemed sincere, like he meant every word. She sighed and nodded. She then hugged him. When they pulled back, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the living room.

"WOW."

Nick and Miley stopped abruptly when they saw Joe and Demi making out in the armchair.

"Well that was ... long expected," Nick said.

Miley nodded, staring at Joe and Demi. She smiled at them and turned to Nick. "Let's leave them alone," she said. She led him into the kitchen and went over to the fridge. She took out two cans of Diet Coke and slid one across the counter to him.

"Thanks," he said. He pulled himself up onto the counter and looked over at her. "I really am sorry you know. About everything. Selena seriously had no right to come over here and tell you what to do. She shouldn't be deciding who my friends are when we've only been dating for like two days."

Miley shrugged and looked at the floor. "It's cool. I'm over it." She glanced up at Nick and shook her head. "I just don't understand why someone like you is with someone like her. I mean, you're an amazing guy and she's the devil in disguise."

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, his phone went off. He glanced at it and sighed. Selena was calling. "Speaking of Selena," he muttered. He was about to press the 'ignore' button but then changed his mind and answered. "What?" he said.

"Nick," Selena said calmly. "Where the _hell _are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I thought I texted you. I can't come tonight. I forgot that I had plans with Miley, Joe and Demi tonight. Sorry to bail but we've planned this for ages," he lied.

"You're with Miley?" Selena growled angrily.

"Yup," Nick said, popping the 'p'. Miley giggled. Nick winked at her and turned his attention back to his conversation with Selena. "Anyway, sorry I couldn't make it. Maybe we'll meet up some time next week."

"What about our date on Friday night?" she asked weakly.

"Oh, crap. Um, I'm really sorry, Sel, but I'm going to have to cancel then, as well. I forgot that I made plans for that night as well. How about Saturday?" he asked.

"I have to go to cheer camp for three weeks then. Forget it, Nick. Screw you." Selena hung up and threw her phone into the back seat. She didn't want to hear any more of his crap. What the hell was up with him?

Nick put his phone in his pocket and shrugged. "There's the movie night problem sorted too." He grinned at Miley. Miley giggled and shook her head.

"You're such a rebel," she teased.

Nick smirked. "Well, you know how I roll," he replied. He opened his arms. "Sorry hug?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes. Miley smiled and walked over to give him a hug. They stayed like that for a while, until Miley pulled back and smiled.

"Hang on," she said. She walked out to the living room and picked it up. She threw it at Joe and Demi. "YO. LOVEBIRDS. GET THE HELL OF MY DAD'S CHAIR IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THE NASTY." She placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.

Demi fell off Joe when the cushion hit her. She quickly sat up and raised her hands. "OKAY, OKAY, I SURRENDER, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Joe and Miley gave her an odd look. Nick came in and flopped down on Miley's couch. Demi got up and sat beside him. "NICHOLAS!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "What did I tell you about calling me Nicholas?" Demi smirked and patted his shoulder. Nick looked up at Miley. "Only Miley can call me that. And only when she's really pissed at me." He smiled and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.

Miley grinned. "Yeah, Demi. Only I can call him that." She stuck out her tongue before running and jumping on top of them. They both screamed. Joe then smirked and jumped on top. They all started screaming and yelling and laughing. At that moment, the door opened and Jackson walked in with his arm around Sara, his fiancée.

He looked at them with wide eyes. "I'm really hoping you tell me that I don't want to know," he said quietly.

They all laughed. Miley shoved Joe off. Joe rolled off and landed on the floor with a yelp. Miley jumped to her feet and dusted herself off. Nick and Demi both sat up again and smiled at Jackson and Sara. Sara smiled back uncomfortably.

"Uh, sorry about that. Just a bit of fun," Miley said to the couple, but everyone knew she was aiming it mainly at Sara.

Sara smiled again. "It's okay. I remember my high school summers. We always did stuff like that. We used to always jump off that bridge and into the river. It was so much fun. I remember Jackson wouldn't do it because he said the water was disgusting and dirty." She smiled up at Jackson and sat down on the arm of the chair Joe had occupied just minutes before.

Miley put on a smile, but when she turned around, she rolled her eyes. She found Sara annoying enough as it was. She really didn't give a crap about her high school years. She wanted to live her own, not listen to stories about her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Jackson and Sara's engagement wasn't something Miley approved of. She found Sara annoying and controlling. She thought her brother deserved better than someone who would spend the rest of her life telling him what to do. She believed that Sara would become Bride-zilla in the run-up to the wedding.

Nick nudged Miley gently and smiled up at Jackson and Sara. "Sounds fun, Sara. The engagement party tomorrow night should be fun, guys. Miley's certainly looking forward to it, aren't you, Miles?" Nick grinned at her, amused.

Miley gritted her teeth and folded her arms. "Oh yes, Nicholas. I'm ecstatic. I can't sleep at night because of my excitement." She sent Sara another fake smile, only to receive another nudge, this time from Demi.

Jackson frowned at his little sister and sat down on the coffee table. "Miley, stop it. Now." He glared at her and mouthed, "We'll talk later." Sara walked over and sat down on Jackson's lap. She smiled at Miley and began playing with Jackson's hair.

Miley faked yet another smile. "If you'll excuse us," she said. "We're going up to my room to hang out. Come get us if you need us. By the way, we'll probably order pizza or Chinese or something, so can you just pay the guy when he comes and I'll pay you back, Jackson?" Miley gave her brother a quick hug and went upstairs with Nick, Demi and Joe.

When they got into her bedroom, Miley flopped down on her bed and screamed into her pillow. "I FREAKING HATE THAT WOMAN." She threw her pillow at the wall and sat up. "She's obviously just using him."

Nick folded his arms over his chest. "Miley, you know that isn't true. Maybe you don't like Sara, but she makes Jackson happier than he's been in a long time. And you just can't admit that," he said. He sat down at Miley's window seat.

Miley glared at him with evil eyes. "Don't make me mad at you again, Nicholas. Because I'll throw you out if you piss me off," she warned.

Nick raised his hands in defence and looked out the window. "You know I'm right," he replied. He then mimed zipping his lips when Miley sent him another dirty look.

Joe sat down beside his brother and patted his shoulder. "That girl has you wrapped around her little finger, bro," he whispered. Joe smiled and looked over at his brother. "Do you like her?" he whispered. His voice kept getting quieter.

Nick glanced over at Miley. She was talking happily to Demi about God knows what. _Probably shoes_, he thought, a smile spreading across his lips. He turned back to Joe and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I've liked Selena for a long time. Every guy in school has. I'm the guy she says yes to, and I'm blowing it for another girl. Maybe Miley is my best friend, yeah. But I've got my chance with the hottest girl in school and I'm choosing my best friend over her."

Joe rolled his eyes and stood on Nick's foot. "Do you know how stupid you sound right now? Of course you're choosing Miley over Selena. Miley's your best friend. But that doesn't answer my question, Nick. Do you like Miley or not? It's a yes or no question. I won't accept 'I don't know'."

Nick sighed. "I guess I kind of do." He looked out at the tree outside Miley's window. When they were younger, around twelve or thirteen, Nick always used to climb the tree and climb in through the window when Miley was grounded, which seemed to be most of the time. "I've known Miley for years. And ... she's beautiful. She really is. But just say we started a relationship and things went badly. That would completely ruin the friendship. And I don't want that. At the end of the day, I always want to be able to turn to my best friend for help or advice. But if we ever broke up, I wouldn't be able to do that. I don't want to gain a girlfriend but lose a best friend," he replied.

Joe nodded and patted Nick's back. "I can see where you're coming from," he said softly. He glanced over at Demi, who was giggling with Miley. "In case nobody's noticed, I like Demi. And I think she likes me too."

Nick laughed. "Oh, we know. Remember what happened in Miley's dad's armchair."

Joe turned pink and looked at his shoes. "As I was saying, I like Demi. But, like you and Miley, we're best friends. I always want us to be there for each other. And I'm just scared a relationship would ruin that for us completely," he said.

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted.

"Yo, dudes." Miley grinned and sat down on Nick's lap with her legs resting on Joe. "What are you two whispering about over here?"

"Stuff. Nothing important," Nick replied. He smiled and leaned against the window.

"Liars," Demi said. She was laying on her stomach on Miley's bed, facing them. Joe glanced at her. She smiled back and winked at him. Joe quickly looked down. He heard Demi's familiar giggle and smiled to himself slightly.

"No, it's nothing. Just guy stuff," Nick said.

Miley jumped off and walked over to her DVD's. "So what should we watch? OOH!" She turned around with an excited smile on her face. "I forgot about the food! Do you guys want Chinese or pizza? Eh, let's go with pizza. Demi and I got Chinese in last time we ordered in food. I can ask Jackson to microwave some popcorn too ... Be right back!" Miley rushed out the door.

The other three heard her go down the stairs and call Jackson. They all smiled at each other.

"She's certainly changed her tune of hormonal teenager to happier-than-a-cheerleader teenager," Joe said, grinning.

Demi laughed and nodded. "I guess that's just Miley, huh?"

Nick nodded, smiling. "Always has been and always will be Miley. She could go from moody bitch to happy-clappy smiley faces in about ten seconds." He chuckled, thinking of a memory. "I remember when we were kids, I stood on her Barbie car thing. It hurt my foot like hell, but I said sorry. Right away, she stopped crying and hugged me and went back to her normal self."

They all laughed. Moments later, Miley came back up. She jumped on top of Demi and smiled at them all. "Yo, dudes. I ordered two pepperoni and two cheese. 'Kay?" They all nodded and she grinned. "Great. Jackson agreed to bring up the food when it gets here. He's going to bring up drinks and popcorn too." She looked at her friends. "Sorry for cramming you guys into my bedroom. I don't really want to be around Sara. She makes me feel sick."

Nick opened his mouth to defend Sara but Joe stood on his foot again. "Do you want her to get pissed at you again? Keep on her good side," he hissed to his brother. Nick nodded and closed his mouth again.

"So, what movie should we watch?" Demi asked. She and Miley stood up and walked over to all Miley's DVDs. They went through them and made a pile of possibilities beside them. When they were finished, they put the pile on the bed and motioned for the boys to join them. Nick and Joe obeyed and stood up. They walked over to the bed and looked.

"Dude, these are all chick flicks!" Joe exclaimed. Miley gave Joe a death glare and he let out a scared squeal. "Nothing wrong with a good old chick flick," he said, his voice high-pitched and scared.

Miley smiled and patted Joe on the head. "Good boy," she said.

They heard the doorbell ring downstairs, followed by Jackson answering and talking. After a few moments, Jackson called up the stairs.

"Hey, Nick! You've got a visitor!" he yelled.

Nick looked at Miley, Demi and Selena. "Who would know I'm -" His eyes widened as he looked at Miley. "No." He bit his lip. "I told Selena I was with you. It's probably her. SOMEBODY come down with me!"

Miley shook her head. "I'm not going down to psycho-bitch. That would be like welcoming her into my home. No way in hell, dudes." She smiled. "Have fun with Slut-lena," she said cheerfully. Nick glared at her, but she just grinned back at him.

Nick grabbed Demi's wrist and pulled her out with him. Sure enough, they saw Selena standing at the door. She was blatantly flirting with Jackson. Sara was giving Selena a dirty look from the kitchen door.

"NICK!" Sara said loudly. "Is this your girlfriend?" she asked.

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Selena interrupted. She had a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Yup, that's me. I'm Nick's _girlfriend_." She glared at Nick. Jackson gave Selena a funny look, but she just smiled and walked over to Nick, who was standing on the stairs with Demi. "So, _sweetie_, what are you doing here?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Demi smiled a fake smile at Selena and put an arm around Nick. "He's hanging with his friends. You know, the people who actually care about him," she said. She tilted her head to the side and fluttered her eyelashes. "So, Selena, what can we do for you?"

"I came to take my boyfriend to the bowling alley. Where he promised to meet me," Selena replied. She gave Nick a dirty look before turning her attention back to Demi.

"I'm afraid Nick's a bit busy right now. Sorry. But maybe he'll get back to you when you come home from that prostitute rehab clinic I heard your parents are sending you to. Maybe when you come back you'll have learned that prostitution isn't the answer to your problems." Demi sent Selena another sickeningly sweet fake smiles.

Selena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "It's. Cheer. Camp," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't really care what it is. The point is that Nick is busy every night until you leave. Deal with it, hoe," Demi said.

"What the _hell _is your problem?" Selena exclaimed.

"You are my problem, Selena. You tried to ruin Nick and Miley's friendship when you've only been dating Nick for like two days. Get the fuck over yourself. He'd _obviously _chose Miley if he had to. He's known her since he was in diapers." Demi walked down the stairs until she reached the bottom. She looked Selena in the eye and glared at her. "By the way, he hasn't actually asked you to be his girlfriend yet. You've been on like one or two dates. Now why don't you eff off and run away to whore camp."

"Cheer camp!" Selena said.

"I don't care!" Demi mocked. She turned around and walked up the stairs. She stopped in front of Nick. "Get rid of her before she drives me insane." She then walked back up to Miley's room.

"Selena, I think you should go. I thought you were pissed at me, then you come over here to find me? What the hell? Look, I'll call you next time I get a chance. But I have plans with my friends tonight. Maybe we'll meet up when you get back from cheer camp," Nick said.

Selena glared at him with tears in her eyes and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Selena?"

She turned around quickly and glared up at him. "_What_?"

"Demi was right," he said. "I haven't actually asked you to be my girlfriend yet." He smiled at her. "See you soon. Safe journey home. Keep your eye out for stop signs and all that." He grinned at her. "Bye, Selena." With that, he turned and ran back upstairs.

Selena watched him go before storming out of the house as the tears began to fall. _I was right_, she thought. _He really doesn't love me and he never will. What the hell am I doing? _She wiped her tears and stood up straight as she approached her car. She couldn't let him get to her. After all, she was the Queen Bee of their school. She had everyone at her feet. She was amazing, and no one could change that.

**Author's Note:**** S'up dudes? I want you guys to answer a few questions in your reviews – **

**- What do you think of Sara so far?  
- Are you happy about Nick and Miley making up?  
- What do you think will happen next between Selena and Nick? **

**Btw, in case anyone thought (which I doubt) that Selena was gone, she's not. She's _definitely _not gone just yet. Also, I'm going to change the way I write. I've put up three chapters in only a few days, and I really don't think the chapters are that good. So I've decided to put up a chapter after I've written a draft, read over it, added in and taken out things, and read it over again. I think that will definitely make my writing better. I'll admit, I'm a slacker when it comes to reading over my writing and making corrections. Sure, it'll take the chapters longer to come out. But if the chapters are written at a better standard, it's worth it, right? So I'll start that when I write the new chapter. I'll post this one before I start that (: OH. Btw? It's my birthday tomorrow (: ***August 1st*

**Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews would be a great birthday present. **

**OH. Almost forgot:  
Follow me on Twitter: /LetItRainx.  
Ask my questions on Formspring: /maybethistimex3.  
****ALSO. Follow me on Tumblr: (itsonlylifexx).(tumblr).(com). Btw, take out the brackets and then that's my Tumblr page (: **

**So follow those or whatever (: And like I said, reviews would be a great birthday present (; Thanks, dudes. - C xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

In the middle of the night, Miley woke up and looked across the room. She saw Demi and Joe asleep on the floor with Joe's arms around Demi. She knew that neither of them realised, but it still made her smile. She glanced over at the window seat and saw Nick with his head leaning against the glass. He was half asleep and watching her. He saw her looking and smiled.

"Good morning," he said. He glanced at his watch. "Night-ish morning. It's four." He smiled again. "Just like you to wake up at four in the morning."

Miley grinned. "Like you can talk. You were awake before I was. Have you even slept at all tonight, Nick?" she asked.

Nick shook his head with a tired smile. "Can't. I'm too busy thinking about all the stuff with Selena. Demi was awake, but she fell asleep about an hour ago." He paused for a moment. "Mi? I never meant to upset you by asking Selena out. You know that, don't you? I just didn't want to be alone anymore."

"You haven't been alone in a long time. For a start, all the girls know you're Joe's brother. They're all over you because of that. They all think you're gorgeous. At least the girls in my gym class do. 'Oh Em Geeeeee, those brothers are like so totally hotttt'," Miley mocked. She paused for a moment, then smiled at Nick. "And anyway, you'll never be alone, whether you're dating someone or not. You'll always have the three of us. No matter where we are or what we're doing in life. You will always have us," Miley replied.

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, of course I have you guys. It's just that everyone else is hooking up with new people this summer and I feel like I'm falling behind. I mean, Joe and Demi are obviously going to start dating soon. And then I heard that you hooked up with that guy Liam at Emily's beach party for the end of the school year."

"Where did you hear that I hooked up with Liam?" she asked, confused.

"He was bragging about it to his sister at her locker on the last day of school. Hers is right beside mine and he always comes to drive her home from school. So he was telling her about it when he came to meet her. Not to offend you, Miles, but I thought you had higher standards than a guy like Liam. He has an IQ of like 5," Nick continued.

Miley giggled. "First of all, I did not hook up with Liam. He tried, but I turned him down. I guess he's just telling people we hooked up. You're right, I do have higher standards. He isn't my type. And I'm pretty sure his IQ isn't 5," she replied.

"Mi, you haven't heard him in the gym locker rooms. He always talks about how the teachers are yelling at him about not finishing his homework and not showing up to class. He actually bragged about failing every subject. He's about to get kicked off the football team."

Miley smiled. "Why do you care so much about Liam anyway? Nothing happened between me and him, I told you. Just drop it already," she said.

Nick shrugged. He didn't speak about the subject again. After a few moments, they heard a groan and looked at the floor to see Demi burying her face into Joe's neck and putting her arms around him. Miley smiled and looked up at Nick. Nick grinned at her and stood up. He walked over to Miley's bed and held out his hand.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She took his hand and let him pull her up.

"You and me are going for a walk on the beach. I went for one around this time in the morning last summer and it was really nice. Quiet," he said. He pulled her out the door and down the stairs.

They walked out the back door and across Miley's backyard. They reached the steps which led down to the beach and walked down onto the sand. Miley jumped on Nick's back and looked out at the waves.

"It's beautiful out here," she said softly.

Nick held her legs to keep her from falling off his back. "It really is, isn't it?" He started walking down the beach, towards the waves. When they reached the water, Nick walked along the water's edge, just looking straight ahead.

"Nick?" Miley asked.

"Mm?"

"Are you ever going to take Selena here?"

Nick stopped and turned his head to look at Miley. He thought for a moment. He didn't _want _to take Selena to the beach at half four in the morning. The only girl he wanted to be there with was Miley. Nobody else. Just Miley.

"No," he replied. "I don't think I will." He paused. "Not that it matters now anyway. After last night, I doubt she'll want to talk to me again. She was pretty pissed when she left."

When Miley didn't reply, he started walking again. He glanced at her over his shoulder. She was holding on with her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his torso. She was just staring out at the water, thinking.

"Miley," he whispered. She turned her head and looked at him. "I think we should talk."

Miley jumped down from his back and stepped in front of him to get a clear view of his face. "Is something wrong?" she asked. She frowned slightly and her face was full of worry and concern. It was clear that she was worried about him.

He continued walking. She jogged slightly to catch up and grabbed his arm. "Nick, tell me," she said.

"I'll tell you. Just keep walking," he said. Miley walked along beside him, looking up at him.

Nick sighed and looked at the water. "I think we should talk ... about Selena. I know you don't like her. I know Demi doesn't like her. I know Joe doesn't like her _personality_. But I like her. Or at least I did. I just want you to tell me ... What do you think I should do?" he asked.

Miley bit her lip and looked at her feet. "Nick, what do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you that you should tell her how much you love her and all that crap? Because that's not what I think. What I think is that you should end it with her soon before she makes everyone really unhappy. Look, Nick, you're my best friend. None of us want to see you get hurt. And she _will_ hurt you, just like we've already told you. And if I'm being completely honest, the only way to avoid being hurt is to about seeing her," she replied.

Nick nodded. "I see where you're coming from." After he said that, he stayed quiet.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Come on, Nick. Say something. What are you doing to do?" she asked.

Nick shook his head and shrugged. He stuck his hands in his pockets and kicked at the sand. "I really don't know, to be honest. Selena's gorgeous and she's nice when you get to know her. It's just that she can't handle the fact that you guys are my friends," he replied.

"Well, she's going to have to handle it, because she's stuck with us. We're a package deal," Miley said, smiling.

Nick smiled back at her. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. Miley screamed as he ran into the water. Nick laughed. He waded in deeper. He stood on the sand, still laughing. The sand was pulled by the waves and they both fell into the water.

When they surfaced, they looked at each other and burst out laughing. They were soaking with water. Miley shoved Nick's head under the water and headed back to the shore.

Nick surfaced again, laughing, and followed her out. They both flopped down onto the sand and looked around them. A couple of people had come out for their morning jogs, but otherwise, the beach was quiet and peaceful.

"Mi?" Nick said softly.

Miley turned and looked over at him.

"I ..." Nick trailed off and stared at the water as it crashed onto the shore. "I ... I don't know how to tell you half the things that are running through my head right now. I know I should probably let you know what I'm thinking, but it's just so hard to say." He glanced at her, then lay down and looked at the sky. "Miley, I -" He was cut off by someone yelling their names.

"NICK! MILEY!"

Miley turned and saw Demi and Joe running across the sand. Demi sat beside Miley and smiled.

"Hey, guys. We woke up and saw you were gone, so we guessed you'd be down here. Uh, why are you both wet?" She saw the look on Nick's face and frowned slightly. "Did I interrupt something?"

Nick sighed and shook his head, looking down the beach in the other direction. "Not at all, Dem. Not at all." He stood up and brushed sand off his wet clothes. "We should get back inside." He offered a hand each to Miley and Demi and pulled them both up.

The four of them all started walking back up to the private entrance from Miley's house to the beach.

"So," Joe said. "What were you two doing down here ... alone?" He glanced at Nick and winked before turning his head back to the front.

"We woke up early and so we went for a walk. Then we got in the water. That's all," Nick said, glaring at Joe. "Then we were talking and you guys came down. You didn't miss much."

"Miley did though, didn't she?" Joe whispered to Nick.

Nick nudged him away and looked at him. "Stop talking like an idiot, Joe," he said. They both sped up to keep up with Demi and Miley, who were whispering and hissing at each other. They seemed to be having quite a heated conversation.

"Everything alright?" Joe asked.

Miley glared at Demi before smiling at Joe. "Yup. All fine here. Right, Demi?" She looked at Demi. They were talking to each other with their eyes, just like they always did. Nick and Joe never understood what they always said to each other when they did that.

"Yup, that's right," Demi said, still looking at Miley. She then looked at the boys and smiled. "Let's go out to that diner down the street and get some breakfast." She glanced from Nick to Miley and giggled. "I think you two need to change first, though."

"Can't. I've got no clothes," Nick said.

"I'm sure Jackson has something," Miley said, smiling.

"You sure?" he asked.

Miley nodded and grabbed Nick by the arm, pulling him up the steps to her backyard. They walked across the grass, across the patio and over the deck to get to the French doors. They went inside and up the stairs.

When the four of them entered Jackson's room, which was beside Miley's, they headed straight for the closet.

"Didn't Jackson stay here last night?" Joe asked, sitting on the bed.

"Nope. He and Sara went back to their apartment. Probably to have sex." Miley scrunched up her face in disgust and went through Jackson's drawers. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and threw them at Nick. "Try those on," she said.

"Why do you hate Sara so much anyway? She seems alright to me," Demi said.

"_Because, _Demetria, she's a lying bitch. She's acting like she's done nothing wrong before, but if Jackson knew what I knew, he'd -" Miley covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened. "I said nothing."

"What do you know, Miley?" Joe asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," she chimed cheerfully. She jumped up and smiled. "I better go get ready. Bye, guys!" She rushed out of the room. They heard her closet door open in the room next to them. Joe and Demi looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"She so knows something," Joe said.

"No shit, Joe. Not like she admitted it or anything," Demi said sarcastically.

Nick walked out in Jackson's clothes and looked around. "Uh, where did Miley go?" he asked.

"To get ready and to hide so we wouldn't ask her what she knows about Sara," Demi said casually. She stood up and smiled.

Nick looked at her oddly. "Um, okay then ..." He trailed off. He went out onto the landing and knocked on Miley's door to get his shoes. "Miles?" When he got no answer, he walked in and looked around. He closed her bedroom door behind him quietly. He got on his hands and knees and started looking under the bed. He heard a door open and looked up.

Miley was walking out of the closet in just a black lace bra and a pair of matching panties. She screamed and tried to cover herself.

"NICK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?"

He had his eyes covered with a hand. What she didn't know was that he could still see her through a crack between his index and middle finger.

"I came to find my shoes. I'm so sorry," he said quickly. _Liar_, he thought to himself.\

Miley quickly grabbed her dressing gown off a hook on the back of her closet door and pulled it on quickly. "Uh, it's fine."

Nick uncovered his eyes and smiled sheepishly at her. "I really am sorry. I thought you were in the shower or dressed or something. I didn't think that ..." He trailed off awkwardly and stood up. He saw his shoes over by the window. He walked over, slipped past Miley, and grabbed them. "Anyway, I'm really sorry. I'll see you out in the car," he said. He walked out of the room quickly, closing the door behind him.

Joe and Demi tumbled onto the floor. Demi had been kneeling on Joe's back with her ear to the keyhole. They looked up, both of them grinning at Nick sheepishly.

"Hellooo," Joe said awkwardly.

Demi hit Joe on the chest and stood up. "So ..." She grinned at Nick again. "You saw my girlie in her underwear ... Did you like it?" She winked at Nick.

Nick glared at them both and began walking down the stairs to the front door. They both ran after him to catch up.

"Are her boobs big? Does she have a hot body?" Joe asked.

Demi glared at him and turned her attention back to Nick.

"It was just like seeing her in a bikini. Can we stop talking about Miley in her underwear, please? It's starting to make me feel uncomfortable," he replied. He opened the front door and headed out towards his car, pulling the keys out from Jackson's jeans.

He got in the driver's seat. Demi hopped into the back seat while Joe got into the passenger's seat. They both looked at him again once they got into the car.

"Okay. Miley's not here now. So you can tell us. How do you _really _feel about Miley? And if you tell me she's like a sister and you're best friends and all that crap again, I swear to God I will beat you so hard that you're bones will be all that's left of you," Demi threatened.

Nick shrugged, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "We're friends. Whatever else happens between us is fine with me. I don't really care as long as she and I remain friends," he said. He smiled at Demi. "Happy?"

"No, actually, I'm not. Tell what's going on between you two!" she replied.

Nick sighed and closed his eyes. "This morning, before you guys came, I was going to tell her I like her. I really was. I was going to tell her how amazing and beautiful she is, and how I never want to lose her. I was going to tell her that I think that maybe ..." He sighed and shook his head. "Forget it."

"No, keep going," Joe encouraged. He smiled at his younger brother. "We're listening."

"I was going to tell her that maybe ... I think I might be falling in love with her," he said quietly. He looked up at them, biting his lip. "But I left it too late. You guys came before I could tell her. It doesn't matter anyway. She obviously doesn't like me back."

Demi and Joe grinned at each other and then looked back at Nick. "You have no idea how wrong you are, little brother," Joe said.

Nick looked at them, confused. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the other back door opening and Miley getting in beside Demi.

Joe and Nick turned to look at her. Joe grinned. "Hey, Miles," he said.

Miley smiled slightly, fixing her lip gloss. "You guys ready to go?" she asked, glancing at her phone.

Everyone nodded. Nick started driving down the street towards the diner that kids from their school often went to for food or just to hang out.

After about five minutes, Nick pulled up in the diner parking lot and got out. The four of them got out of the car. Nick opened Miley's door for her. She smiled slightly at him and thanked him.

When they got inside and were sitting in a booth with their menus in front of them, Demi nudged Joe and sighed. "Damn, I need to pee. Don't you Joe?" she asked.

Joe looked up. "Huh?"

"Don't you need to pee?" she said through gritted teeth, glaring at him.

He looked at her confused, then he understood what she meant. "Oh! Yeah, I need to pee as well. Be right back, guys," he said. He and Demi rushed over towards the toilets, only to hide behind a wall and watch Miley and Nick. They quietly high fived each other and grinned before turning their attention back to Nick and Miley in the booth.

"So, what were you saying down at the beach?" Miley said after an awkward few moments of silence.

"Um, it doesn't matter," Nick said, looking down as his cheeks went pink.

Miley reached over the table and squeezed his hand. She smiled. "You can tell me, you know. We're best friends, right?"

Nick sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah, of course we are, Miles. I just ... I don't think I should tell you anymore. It's not necessary. I'm just ... I'm happy right now. The way things are. No need to spoil it by telling you something that doesn't even matter," he replied.

Miley frowned slightly, but she quickly gathered herself and smiled. "Okay. But if you change your mind, just let me know. We'll talk whenever you need to. Never forget that, okay?" she said. She pulled her hand back and began to pick at her red nail polish.

Nick sighed and looked up at her. "I'm sorry about earlier in your bedroom, Miley," he said.

Miley looked up and smiled warmly at him. "No, no, it's fine. I shouldn't have assumed that no one would be in there. I should have checked or put something on. It's not your fault," she replied. She smiled again.

"I should have let you know I was in there," he said.

Miley gave Nick a look that told him to stop talking. He closed his mouth and smiled.

"You never could shut up or admit that it wasn't your fault," she said, smiling.

Nick grinned. "Well, you know me. I don't like to blame other people when there's no need," he replied. He glanced at his phone, then back at Miley. "Miles ... Demi and Joe said you know something about Sara. What is it?"

Miley looked out the window awkwardly. "It's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. It doesn't even matter that much," she said. She looked back at him and bit her lip. "Fine, okay. But if I tell you, you can't tell a soul," she said.

Nick nodded. "I won't, don't worry," he said.

Miley sighed and leaned on the table, closer to him. He leaned in closer to listen.

"A few months ago, I was in Starbucks. I was on my way to meet Demi at the mall to go shopping for dresses for that party Jake was throwing. I decided to go in and get some coffee. So, I ordered and was waiting. I looked around the coffee shop and saw this couple in the back. The girl looked familiar. They were holding hands and laughing. Then he kissed her. When he turned around, I saw Mike. Then the girl turned around and it turned out it was Sara."

Nick stared at Miley in shock. "Sara's cheating on Jackson?" he asked.

Miley nodded. "With Mike," she repeated.

"Who's Mike?"

"Jackson's best friend since kindergarten." Miley sighed. "So then I tried to confront her about it when she came over to see Jackson. She told me that Jackson would never believe me over her. A few weeks later, they moved in together. A while after that, they got engaged," she said.

"I'm sorry, Mi. We shouldn't have thought that you were just jealous. We should have known that you needed a reason to dislike Sara so much," Nick said.

Miley smiled. "It's okay. But you can't tell anyone. Not Joe, not Demi, and especially not Jackson. He'll kill Sara and me if he finds out she's cheating on him and I've known for months. He'll never speak to me again."

Nick nodded. "I promise."

Miley smiled softly. "Thanks." She looked out the window and sighed. "I need to tell you something. Something that could possibly change things forever," she said.

"Um, okay. Go ahead," Nick said nervously. He watched as she turned to look at him.

"I think ... I think I like -"

"HELLO!"

Joe and Demi hopped back into the booth, grinning.

"S'up, dudes?" Demi exclaimed, putting an arm around Miley.

"Uh, I was just about to tell Nick something," Miley said. They were doing it again – talking with their eyes.

"Damn, it's creepy when you two do that," Joe commented. He leaned back in the booth and smiled. "So, what were you telling Nick, Milerz?" he asked.

Miley glared at Joe. "Nothing. It doesn't matter now," she said.

Nick frowned slightly before quickly sitting up and smiling. "We'll talk later," he said to Miley. "That was some bathroom break," he then said, glaring at Demi and Joe.

"Well I had to do a really long pee. And then Joe had to do a HUGE -"

"I don't want to know, Demi. I really don't," Miley said.

Demi grinned. "You sure? I mean, seriously, it was -"

"DEMI."

Demi mimed zipping her lips and folded her arms across her chest. "Enough about us. What were you two getting up to while we were gone?" she winked at Nick and then smirked at Miley. "Smoochin'? Fu -"

"Demi, don't even say it," Miley said.

"Anyway, we already told you two. Miley was telling me something. But we'll talk about it later. Right, Miles?" Nick smiled at Miley. Miley smiled back. Nick turned to Demi. "So, uh, what about you two?"

"Uh, what about us?" Demi asked. Suddenly she found her hands very interesting.

Miley smirked. "Oh, come on. We saw you two last night. You were all over each other. What's going on between you?" Miley paused, then grinned excitedly. "OH MY GOSH, ARE YOU TWO DATING NOW?"

"NO!" Demi and Joe exclaimed at the same time. They glanced at each other, blushed, then looked down.

Nick and Miley smirked at each other.

"Okay, okay, fine. Then what's going on?" Nick asked.

"We are just two friends enjoying each other's company. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Joe said innocently. He glanced at Demi. "We just got caught up in the moment last night. Right, Dems?" He looked at Demi, waiting for a reply.

Demi's eyes filled with tears. "Yeah. We were just caught in the moment." Demi got up from the booth and stormed off to the bathrooms, wiping away her tears.

Nick hit Joe over the head. "Smooth, jackass. You broke her heart," he said.

Joe scoffed. "Coming from you, little brother. It's not like you haven't broken the hearts of about ten girls," he retorted.

Nick opened his mouth to argue back, but Miley interrupted him.

"I am going to go and try to get Demi out of there. You two bicker and argue as long as you want. But, Joe? You have a lot of kissing up to do. You really hurt her by what you said," she said gently. She smiled softly and stood up. "Talk to her later. I'll go talk to her now and see if she's okay." Miley turned on her heel and walked towards the bathroom to Demi.

Nick looked at Joe and sighed. "We've not been lucky with girls this summer, huh?"

"Nope. Not at all. I mean, first you get the hottest girl in school but drop her for Miles. And you two can't just tell each other that you're in love with the other. And then there's Demi ..." Joe sighed. "What am I supposed to do? I really like her."

"Then stop screwing up and go get her," Nick said.

Joe sighed and leaned back. He really didn't know what to do.

"Dem?" Miley leaned against the row of sinks on the opposite wall from the bathroom cubicles. "Dem, please come out? Joe didn't mean to upset you. You know that." Miley sighed and knocked on the only closed cubicle door.

"Go away!" Demi called.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Don't act like a kid, Dem. Joe likes you. Stop acting like you don't and just come out and talk to me."

The door of the cubicle swung open and revealed Demi, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why are you being such a bitch right now?" she exclaimed at Miley.

Miley sighed and hugged Demi. "I'm sorry. This morning just hasn't been all that great." Miley pulled back and smiled at Demi. "So, you want to go back out there and order or what?"

Demi nodded. "Let's go order. I think I should talk to Joe anyway," she said. She hugged Miley again. "Thanks," she whispered in her ear. She pulled back, grabbed Miley's arm, and dragged her out into the diner.

When the boys heard the bathroom door close, they turned at the same time. Joe smiled at Demi and stood up. Nick glanced at Miley, then back at Joe and Demi. Miley slipped past the couple and sat back down in the booth.

"You talk to Dem?" Nick asked casually as he looked at the menu.

"Not really. But she's fine now," Miley replied, nodding at Joe and Demi.

Nick looked up and saw Joe and Demi smiling at each other and laughing. Joe had a hand on Demi's lower back and Demi was resting a hand on Joe's shoulder. Nick turned back to Miley and smiled.

"I think that's them dating, huh?" he asked.

Miley smiled and nodded. "That's them." She bit her lip and sighed. "So, uh, what about you and Selena? I mean, Dem said you three had quite a ... heated conversation last night."

Nick chuckled. "More like Demi and Selena did. I can't believe ..." Nick trailed off and shook his head. "No, Dem would kill me if I told anyone."

"What?" Miley asked, confused.

"Dem told me something that she made me swear I'd never tell you and Joe. So I'm going to keep that little secret from you," he replied. He grinned at her and put down his menu. "Decided what you're getting?"

Miley ignored his question and glared at him. "Dude, seriously? I told you about Sara and her cheating ass. Tell me about Demi. I'll just end up asking her. So you may as well tell me now." She smiled innocently. "What's it going to be, Nicky?"

"Fine, fine, fine." He sighed. "Demi and Selena used to be best friends. Not around us or anything. But when we were like five, Demi's mom was really good friends with Selena's mom. They were always hanging around at each other's houses and stuff. So then Demi and Selena were dragged along with their mothers and forced to get along and play together and stuff. They ended up being really close. Selena was the first person to know about Demi's crush on Joe. They were just as close as you are with Dem. But then when we were like ten or eleven, they had this big fight about Joe. Dem found out that Selena had been Joe's first kiss, so Demi completely stopped talking to Selena. And now they hate each other," Nick explained.

"Why didn't Dem tell me?" Miley asked quietly. She glanced up at Demi, who was now sitting at a table in the corner with Joe. Joe was holding Demi's hand and they looked like they were having a serious conversation – something Joe didn't have very often.

"Selena made her promise not to tell anyone. Selena didn't want people to know they were friends. She said that her friends wouldn't like it. That's one of the reasons the fight was so bad. Selena had been hiding their friendship for so long that Demi was just sick of all her crap. I guess kissing Joe was just the last straw for Demi," Nick replied.

"So, if Selena didn't want people to know, how do you know?" she asked.

Nick shrugged. "That afternoon at the beach with Demi and Joe, when you had left and Selena had arrived, I was sitting there, listen to Selena go on and on about how she had run out of pink nail polish or some crap like that. So then Demi was being a real bitch to Selena. When she and Joe left, I asked Selena what was up with her and Demi. So she told me the whole story. I asked Demi about it last night when you and Joe were asleep and she said it was true. But she made me promise not to tell anyone either," he answered.

"Oh ..." Miley looked down. She had a strange feeling inside. She had thought that she and Demi told each other everything, and that there was no secrets between them. She sighed and looked at Nick. "Thanks. I won't tell her I know."

Nick smiled. "You know, I'm pretty sure she'd have told you if she thought it was necessary information. I guess she just realised that you didn't need to know, so why bother you with the whole story?" he said.

Miley shrugged and looked at the menu. She didn't comment further on the matter. After a few moments, Joe and Demi returned. When a waitress saw that the four of them were finally all gathered together in the booth, she came over.

"Hello there, my name is Bethany. What can I get you guys today?" Her voice was dull and she sounded like she didn't want to be there.

"Service with a smile," Demi muttered sarcastically to Miley before smiling up at the waitress. "I'll just have the French toast, please," she said.

Bethany wrote it down and looked at Miley. "And you?"

"I'll have the pancakes, please," Miley said.

Nick ordered eggs and bacon and Joe ordered eggs, bacon, pancakes and some fruit. When the waitress walked away, Nick, Demi and Miley all stared at him.

"How do you eat so much?" Miley asked, shocked. "Aren't you worried about getting fat?"

"Nope," Joe replied. "That's what working out is for. That's what Nick and I do every morning and night. Right, little bro?" Joe grinned at his brother across the table.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, that's us. We work out every morning and every night." Nick smirked and pointed at his chest. "How do you think I got this?"

Demi rolled her eyes. "You two are so full of yourselves."

Joe smirked and leaned in closer to her face. "But you love it." He was answered with a giggle and a nod from Demi. They then began to laugh together. Joe reached for Demi's hand on the table and held it tightly in his own.

Nick pretended to be sick. "Seriously, guys, I'm happy that you two are now admitting that you're pretty much in love with each other, but can you please not be all loved up at the table? It's making me feel sick," he said.

Joe smiled. He reached over and pinched Nick's cheeks. "Aw, Nicky-poo's just jealous that he has no one to love," he cooed mockingly.

Nick swatted Joe's hand away and kicked him under the table. "Shut up, Joe," he muttered. He then looked up and saw the waitress coming towards them with some food. "Oh, here's the food," he announced.

Joe sat up excitedly and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Bethany sat the food down in front of them and turned to walk away. Joe coughed. She turned and glared at him, as if telling him that he better not be asking her for anything.

"Would it be possible to get a glass of orange juice? Preferably the orange juice with bits," he said politely.

"We don't do orange juice. We only do coffee," she replied dully.

"Oh, then it's okay, I'll just get a drink on the way home," he replied. He sent a slight smile in her direction, but her expression stayed the same – bored and unhappy.

"What, coffee too good for you, rich boy?" she asked, her voice still the same tone that it had been all morning.

Joe gulped. This woman scared him, big time.

"Uh, we're sorry, ma'am. Joe didn't mean to offend or upset you. He was just wondering if he could get a drink. It's alright though. Right, Joe?" Nick said quickly. He glanced at his brother, who was looking down at the table to avoid the woman's glare.

"Yup," Joe replied, still not looking up.

Bethany glared at the four of them again before turning on her heel and storming into the kitchen.

"Somebody's not a morning person," Miley muttered.

The other three laughed. After a few moments, they all tucked into their food.

The next thing they heard was the chorus of 'Billionaire' blare from someone's phone. Everyone in the diner turned to look at them. Nick quickly took his phone from his pocket and sighed. He pressed 'ignore' and put his phone on the table.

Joe reached over and grabbed Nick's phone. He looked at the recent calls list and sighed. He looked at Nick. "Selena's calling you?"

Nick shrugged and continued to eat his food.

Demi took Nick's phone and rang Selena back. Nick dropped his knife and fork and reached for the phone, but Demi held it out of Nick's reach. She put it on speaker and smiled at Miley. Miley grinned back at her and listened.

Selena answered on the first ring. "NICK? Oh my gosh, I've been trying to call you since last night but -"

"No, this isn't Nick, sweetheart. It's Demi. Now why the _hell_ are you calling Nick after that conversation we had last night?" Demi snapped into the phone.

Selena laughed on the other end. "What, you're in love with Nick too now, are you?" she asked.

Demi nearly growled with anger. "Listen to me, bitch. Back the hell off. Nick doesn't want you any more. You want him? Well, guess what. Miley, Joe and me come with the package, whether you like it or not. Now why don't you go fuck a tree?" she snapped.

Selena laughed. "That all you got, Demi? I thought that you'd have picked up some better insults in the last few years. I mean, that last argument we had ... I believe you told me to go fuck a tree then, as well," she replied.

"Don't even talk about last time, Selena," Demi said through gritted teeth. "Now, I told you to back off. Nick will call you when he wants to talk to you. Got me?" Demi then pressed 'end call' and handed Nick's phone back to him.

Joe smirked. "Damn, my girl's a bit of a badass, huh?"

At the same time, Nick, Miley and Demi all turned to Joe and hit him.

**Author's Note:**** Hey, dudes. I did all my editing and stuff this time (: At least for the first bit, I did. Sorry if there's any mistakes in the last bit. I wanted to get it out ASAP for you all (: So, I'm sorry it took so long to get out. If you follow my Twitter, you'll know that I went through some pretty bad family stuff with my parents this week. I'm not really in the mood to talk about it right now, because it'll depress me, but read my Twitter if you want to know more about it. My Twitter is jumpthenfallx. I changed the name early this morning when I couldn't sleep. I might change my FanFiction name to the same thing. Idk yet, though. Thank you all for the birthday wishes (: They made me smile. It meant a lot to me, so thank you. The reviews were great as well (: So here's some questions for you to answer in your reviews this time (:**

**What do you think of the whole Jemi relationship?**

**What do you think of the whole Demi/Selena situation?**

**What do you think will happen next in the story?**

**Yeah, so, review and tell me what you think (: I think that's about it ... Here's my other stuff on the internet:**

**Formspring – xjumpthenfallx : Ask me whatever you want on there. About my family, friends, me, my writing. As long as it isn't TOO personal, like 'are you a virgin' or stuff like that. Twitter – jumpthenfallx : I seriously write a load of crap on there :P I'm a bit of a Twitter whore. I tweet non-stop. But I guess some of it is entertaining. Sometimes I need some advice on outfits or I ask questions and wait for answers from my followers, so that's kind of fun, I guess. So follow me on there. Tumblr – itsonlylifex : I don't really use Tumblr as often as I use Twitter, Formspring and FanFiction, but I still go on there sometimes and post random stuff. So follow me on there as well.**

**Message me here on FF if you want. I like making new friends (: Also, you can add my MSN or AIM – just message me or go on my profile for those. You can talk to me on there if you want. NOW I think that's it. So get in touch with me on those things if you'd like. And I think that's it. So review and get in touch with me (:**

**Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. REVIEW (: I need to stop saying that. I need to stop talking. Okay, whatever. Byeeee. - C xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

After they finished their food, Joe threw two twenty dollar bills and a ten down on the table and stood up. He stuck his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Ready to go?" he asked. The other three nodded and stood up as well.

"Thanks," Nick called to the waitress. She kept glaring at them from behind the counter, where she was making a pot of coffee. "Damn, she hates teenagers," he murmured to Miley, who giggled and kept walking out of the diner.

"Where are we headed now?" Joe asked as they approached Nick's car.

Nick unlocked the car and got in. "I'd suggest the mall but I don't want to be dragged around shopping for hours. How about our place? Hang down in the basement for a while. Play some video games, watch some movies, eat some food."

Miley got into the passenger's seat and giggled. "Nick, we just ate. How can you want to eat more food?" she asked. She pulled on her seatbelt and waited for Nick to start up the car and leave.

Joe and Demi got into the backseat. They were holding hands across the middle seat.

"I don't object to more food," Joe said.

Demi hit Joe on the arm. "Joe, you just ate more food than the three of us together. How can you still be hungry?" she exclaimed.

Nick started up the car and began to exit the parking lot. He pulled out onto the main road and drove in the direction of his house. "As I was about to say before Joe interrupted, movies just aren't the same without snacks."

"So true," Joe said. Miley and Demi both glared at him. He made a face at them. "Just saying."

Demi smirked. "I have an idea about what to do when we get there," she said. She glanced at Nick and Miley. It was obvious that her idea was aimed at the two of them.

Nick sighed. "Oh, what a joy. Demi has an idea. Can't wait to hear this bright idea," he commented sarcastically. He kept his eyes on the road, waiting for Demi to speak again and tell them her idea.

"Strip poker," Demi said, the smirk never leaving her lips.

"We are not playing strip poker, Dem," Miley replied, a smile playing on her lips.

"You guys are boring. Strip poker is so much fun. Always ends in sex." She glanced from Nick to Miley, smirking. "Or at least some sort of physical contact."

"Moving on," Nick said quickly. "Selena's been texting me ever since you hung up on her, Dem."

"Tell her to back off," Demi said angrily.

"Chill the beans, babe," Joe said, looking up from his phone to look at his new girlfriend. "Don't get worked up over Selena."

"I think I need to meet with Selena. Talk some things through. Maybe I was too harsh on her," Nick said.

"Oh, God. One step forward, three steps back. I don't give a crap. Nick, she's trouble. She's a lying little -"

Joe placed his hand over Demi's mouth to shut her up. "Stop talking, babe," he said.

Miley rolled her eyes at Nick. "You aren't seriously considering meeting with her, are you?" she asked.

Nick shrugged. "Not like I have any other girls lining up to date me."

His comment obviously upset Miley. She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes so as to stop herself from saying something she knew she would regret. "Stop the car," she demanded.

"Miles, I can't. I'm on a main road here," he replied, worried about her.

Tears were welled up in her eyes. "I don't care. Stop the damn car!" she yelled.

"Okay, okay, just calm down," Nick said. He pulled into a supermarket parking lot.

Miley got out and slammed the car door. When she started walking away, Nick got out.

"Mi, come back. Where are you going?" he called after her.

"Away from you," she yelled over her shoulder. She kept walking in the opposite direction and down towards the pavement along the street. It was only when she turned the corner that Nick realised that she wasn't going to turn around, laughing. She was serious.

Nick quickly got back in the car and started driving after her. He could hear Demi and Joe talking to him from the back seat, but he wasn't paying attention. He was focusing on Miley. He drove out of the parking lot and down the street she had gone down.

After a few moments, he noticed her, jogging down the street. It had already started to rain and she had her cardigan over her head to stop her hair from getting wet. Nick sped up slightly to catch up with her, then slowed down whenever he reached her. He put down his window and smirked at her.

"Get in the car, Miley," he said gently.

Miley glanced at him, but kept jogging. "No. I'm going home, Nick," she replied.

"Look, I'm sorry I upset you. I didn't intend to do that. But can you please just come in from the rain? You'll get sick," he said.

Miley continued jogging, not bothering to reply to him. Nick sighed and glanced at Joe in his mirror.

"Joe, you know what to do," he said. He stopped the car and leaned his elbow on his door.

Joe got out of the car and grabbed Miley by the waist. Demi climbed into the front, beside Nick, and pulled on her seatbelt. Joe threw Miley into the backseat and got back in himself before signalling for Nick to drive on.

"Oh my God. This is kidnapping," Miley said, her arms folded across her chest in anger. She glared at the other three before leaning back in her seat, pouting.

Joe smirked and patted Miley's shoulder. "What you going to do? Call the cops?" He chuckled. "How you going to do that without a phone?" His smirk turned into a grin as he pulled her phone out from his pocket.

Miley gasped. "HOW DID YOU GET MY PHONE?" she yelled. She reached for it, but Joe just moved it further away from her each time. She glared at him. "Give me my phone," she said. Her voice was nearly a growl – she was very protective over her phone, and it didn't help that she was already pissed off.

Joe smirked and tossed Miley her phone. "Stole it out of your pocket in the diner. Geez, calm down." He chuckled again and looked out the front window. "Oh, look, we're nearly home." He grinned at Miley. "More time to spend with Miley," he said in a happy voice, just to piss her off.

Miley glared at him and got ready to get out. When Nick pulled up outside his house, Miley immediately opened the door and started to storm off in the direction of her own house, which was miles away, even though it was pouring rain.

"Go inside," Nick muttered. He got out of the car and jogged after Miley. He stood in front of her and placed a hand on each shoulder to stop her.

"Move, Nick," she demanded.

"No," he replied simply. He shook his head to get the water out of his hair, but it made no difference. It was pouring. It got just as wet as it was before within moments. "Not until you tell me why you were so upset by what I said in the car about no other girls lining up for me."

Miley's eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath and bit her lip. She glanced to the left so as to avoid his gaze. Nick tilted her chin so she was forced to look at him.

"Tell me. We're best friends. Nothing you say will change that," he said softly.

Miley closed her eyes. She was running out of self-control. She had the urge to kiss him, but she knew she couldn't. She knew that ruin everything. Even though she had nearly told him already, she knew now that things would never be the same if she told him.

She heard Nick's front door close and turned to look. Demi and Joe had gone inside, just like Nick had told them to. But Miley had a feeling that they were probably watching through the living room window or something.

She turned back to Nick. She watched his facial expression for a moment. He was worried about her, that was evident. And he wanted to know the truth. Miley hated lying. She wasn't necessarily lying, but she wasn't exactly telling the truth either.

A tear fell onto her cheek, though it was hard to tell from the rain. "Nothing I say will change that?" she asked shakily. He nodded in reply. She shook her head back at him. "What I want to say will change everything, Nick. If I say what I want to say, then nothing will ever be the same again. We won't be best friends anymore. Hell, we probably won't even be friends any more," she said.

Nick chuckled to himself, but when he looked at her, he saw that she was serious about everything that she had just said. "Miles, come on. Nothing will ever change our friendship, you know that."

Miley shook her head. "I ..." She thought about it for a moment. On one hand, she could tell him and maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way. On the other hand, she could tell him but he may not feel the same way, and it would ruin their friendship forever. She sighed and slipped out of his grasp. "I have to go." She ran away as fast as she could in the other direction.

Nick watched her go. He yelled after her, but she didn't turn back. She just kept on running. When she turned the corner and it was obvious that she wasn't going to turn back and come to talk to him, Nick turned and walked across the grass and into the house.

He took off his dirty shoes and sat them in the hallway. He walked into the living room and saw Joe and Demi sitting not so casually on the couch. They were both watching him with guilty expressions on their faces. It was obvious that they had been watching from the window.

"What happened?" Demi asked.

Nick shrugged and stayed standing in the doorway. He had decided not to sit on the furniture because of his wet clothing. "I'm pretty sure you know what happened," he said softly.

Joe and Demi glanced at each other before turning back to look at Nick. Joe stood up and walked towards Nick, but Nick shook his head and backed away.

"I'm going upstairs to get changed. I, uh, I'll meet you in the basement, okay?" he said. He didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he turned and went upstairs as quickly as he could. When he reached his room, he slammed the door closed and slid down the door. And for the first time in years, Nicholas cried for Miley Ray.

Hours later, the three of them were sitting in the basement in silence. Joe had his arm around Demi on the couch and Nick was sitting on his own in the armchair. Joe and Demi were watching the movie while Nick simply stared at the wall, wondering why Miley was acting so strangely after he had said what he did.

After a few moments, Demi's phone went off. 'Today Was A Fairytale' by Taylor Swift blared out of her iPhone. She quickly took it out of her pocket and looked around, nervous.

"It's Miley's mom," she said.

"Why would she be calling you?" Nick asked, worried.

Demi shrugged. "I better answer it, huh?" Joe and Nick nodded in response and Demi pressed the 'answer' button. "Uh, hey, Mrs. Stewart. What's up?" she said.

After a few replies of 'uh huh' and 'yeah', Demi's face turned white. Her eyes widened in horror and the phone nearly fell out of her hand. "W-What?" It was the only word she could get out.

The room was so silent that a pin dropping could be heard. After some more talking on Miley's mother's end, Demi took a deep breath.

"Okay, thanks. We'll be there as soon as we can," she said. Demi then hung up and looked at Joe and Nick with her eyes full of tears. The tears started to fall onto her cheeks as she sobbed. "I-It's M-Miley. There's been an a-accident," she said.

Nick's heart started beating faster and faster. "Is she okay?" he croaked.

Demi shook her head. "Miley hit her head pretty badly She's been put into a medical coma," she sobbed. And with those words, Demi's crying turned into hysterics as she sobbed and roared into Joe's shoulder.

**Hello (: Sorry it's so short. But I wanted to get this out. I'm sorry it took so long. I just couldn't sit down and write it. It was ending on sort of a boring note. So I decided to liven it up a bit and add in a bit of drama. I'll start working on Chapter 6 tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be the same length as like Chapters 3 and 4. Thanks for the followers on Twitter and Tumblr, and thanks for the questions on Formspring. Keep them coming. Twitter is jumpthenfallx, Tumblr is itsonlylifexx and Formspring is xjumpthenfallx. So check me out there. Also, I wanted to check something with you guys. Do you want a happy ending, sad ending, or a cliffhanger at the end? I'm starting to form the rest of the story in my head and I've got three possible endings planned. So, which do you want? The most popular one won't necessarily be what happens, but it'll have an impact on my decision. So let me know in your reviews.**

**The reviews have been great lately (: I'm loving all the answers to your questions. This time, I'll only ask like two questions about the story. 1) What do you think of Miley making Nick stop the car? 2) What do you think will happen to Miley? AND this time, I'll ask a personal question too. Hm ... If you follow me on Twitter, what do you think of my tweets? Also, what is your favourite song atm?**

**Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Remember to review. Tell your friends (: The more reviews, the faster it'll come out (; Motivation, my dears. Anyway, thanks again. Bye xx**


	6. Chapter 6

Nick watched as Demi fell apart in Joe's arms. He watched as Joe just stared at the blank wall while he rubbed Demi's back in an attempt to calm her down. He took a deep breath and stood up.

"Come on," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "We have to go see her."

Joe let go of Demi and they both sat up. Demi wiped her eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down. They both stood up and walked over to Nick, who was standing with his car keys in hand.

The three of them walked over to the basement stairs and went up. They walked out through the living room, where Joe and Nick's parents and brothers were. Their mother looked up with a slight frown on her face.

"Where are you three going? It's still pouring outside," she said. She looked at Demi and gasped. "Demi, what's the matter?" She stood up and walked over to Demi, who smiled slightly at her and looked at the floor.

"Um, there's a problem. Miley's had an accident. We'll explain when we get home. We have to go to the hospital now," Joe said. He took Nick's keys. Nick opened his mouth to argue, but Joe raised his hand, signalling him to stop. "You aren't fit to drive. Who knows what'll happen? You could completely break down on the way there. And obviously Demi's in no fit state either, so I'm driving. There isn't going to be another accident today," he warned.

Nick sighed and nodded. He glanced at his parents. "Bye," he croaked. He headed out to his car with Demi and Joe trailing behind.

When they were all in Nick's car, Joe reversed out of the driveway and began to drive towards the hospital. The car was silent except for Demi's sniffling and Nick's shaky breathing. Joe glanced at the two of them. Nick was staring at the window, practically shaking, with tears in his eyes. Demi was sniffling and picking at the nail varnish on her fingernails in the backseat. Joe sighed and focused on the road.

_How could this happen to Miley? _he thought. _She and Nick never even got to tell each other how they feel._

After a few more minutes of driving, Joe reached the road the hospital was on. Nick and Demi realised where they were and sat up straight, staring at the big building in front of them. Joe turned off at the roundabout and drove into the parking lot of the hospital.

He pulled into a space and turned in his seat. He looked at Nick and Demi, who were both looking up at the building with scared expressions on their faces.

Joe cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "You ready?" he said calmly.

Nick looked at Joe and nodded. He then paused, smiled slightly, and shook his head. "I'm not ready. I don't think I'll ever be ready to go in there and see her like that, but I guess we have to, huh?" He took a deep breath and attempted another smile, but he failed miserably.

They both turned to look at Demi, who still had her eyes on the hospital building. Another tear slid down her cheek. She turned and looked at the brothers in the front. She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"She shouldn't even be here," she whispered.

Joe sent her a small smile. He reached his hand into her and took her hand. "I know, Dem. But we have to go in there and be there for her when she wakes up. She wouldn't want you to be this upset over it. You know Miley. She hates it when people cry over her," he replied.

Demi bit her lip and nodded. She squeezed Joe's hand to thank him and undid her seatbelt. "Let's go," she said.

Nick and Joe both undid their seatbelts as well. The three of them got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the hospital. Joe and Demi were holding hands, and Nick was walking a few steps ahead with his eyes in the ground.

When they walked through the front door, they walked straight to the front desk. "Hello, I'm looking for a Miss Miley Stewart?" Joe enquired.

The woman pursed her lips slightly. "Are you family?" she asked.

Joe opened his mouth to reply, but Nick interrupted. He hit Demi and Joe's hands so that they let go of each other. "Yes. We're her brothers, and this is her sister," he lied.

The woman eyed them suspiciously, but tapped something in on her computer keyboard. After a few moments, she turned back to them. "Miss. Stewart is on the third floor. Room 359," she replied.

"Thank you," Demi said quickly. She grabbed Joe's hand when the woman at the desk couldn't see them anymore and giggled. "She actually fell for that." She glanced at Nick. "Nice one, Nick," she commented. She pressed the elevator and began to tap her foot impatiently.

When the elevator doors opened, the three of them got in. Nick pressed the button for the third floor and waited. As the doors closed, a hand stopped them. Jackson and Sara stepped into the elevator. Sara had tears streaming down her cheeks and Jackson had a very serious expression on his face. They were clutching each other's hands.

Jackson grunted a hello to Miley's friends and looked at the ground. Sara sniffled and wiped her tears.

"What are _you _doing here?" Nick spat at her, remembering what Miley had told him about her.

Sara glared at him. "I am here to support my fiancée as he grieves for his sister, and I am here to wait for my future sister-in-law to wake up and make it through this like the strong girl she is," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Somehow, I don't think Miley would want you here," Nick replied, his voice cold and harsh.

"Nick!" Jackson snapped.

Nick shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered before turning back to face the elevator doors.

When the elevator doors opened, Nick was first out into the hallway. He walked straight to the woman at the desk there. "Could you tell me where Room 359 is? I'm looking for Miley Stewart," he said.

The woman smiled softly at him. She pointed down the hallway. "Go down there, take a left, take another left, then go straight to the end of the hall. Her parents are in the waiting room there already," she replied.

Nick thanked her quickly before leading Joe, Demi, Jackson and Sara down the hallway. All five of them were practically running down the hall to get to Miley.

When they were on their way to the end of the hallway, Nick stopped abruptly. He was staring straight ahead at the waiting room in front of him. He shook his head as a few tears came to his eyes.

Joe placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You okay, bro?" he murmured.

Nick shook his head and looked at Joe. "I can't do this. Going down that hallway is like admitting that this is all real and that she's really hurt. It's like admitting that this isn't a horrible, horrible nightmare," he replied.

Joe patted Nick's shoulder. He glanced at the other three and nodded. "You guys go sit down in the waiting room, we'll be down in a minute." He watched Demi, Jackson and Sara go to join Miley and Jackson's parents in the waiting room before turning back to Nick. "Nicholas, come on. Do you think Miley would want you to be standing here thinking like that? Of course she doesn't want to be in this position, but she more than likely doesn't want you to be acting like this because of it," he said. Joe paused for a moment. "Nick?" Nick looked up at Joe, who was looking at his brother with an expression that Nick had never seen before. "Are you ... Are you in love with Miley?"

"I like Miley," Nick said slowly.

Joe shook his head. "You aren't answering my question. Do you _love_ Miley?" he asked.

Nick didn't reply. Instead, he looked at the ground. He didn't know what to say. On one hand, Miley was an amazing girl. She made him feel special inside. She gave him butterflies in his stomach. She was smart, beautiful, funny, everything he wanted. But on the other hand, he couldn't love her. Sure, she was amazing, but he couldn't be in love at such a young age. It was absurd. Nick looked at Joe and sighed.

"I wish I knew, but I don't. I don't know how to describe how I feel for Miley. It isn't love quite yet, but it definitely friendship any more," he said.

Joe smiled at Nick and patted his shoulder again. "That, my friend, is the feeling of falling in love. Not quite love, but definitely not friendship? Yeah, you're falling for her, little brother," he said. He sent Nick a wide grin. "Now, come on. I'm sure you'll be the first person Miley will want to see whenever she wakes up."

Together, the brothers walked down the hall to the waiting room. When they reached the end of the hall, they entered a room with chair against the walls, with two coffee tables covered with magazines. There was a water fountain in the corner and a door to the toilets on the left. Facing the entrance was a pair of double doors, which obviously led to the operating rooms and private rooms for patients.

When they saw Joe and Nick, Miley's parents stood up immediately.

"Nick!" The woman rushed over to the teenage boy and engulfed him in a bear hug. "Thank God you're here. She's in surgery now."

Nick gulped. "S-Surgery?"

Mrs. Stewart opened her mouth to reply, but her husband placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I think Miley should be the one to tell Nicholas her news, don't you, dear?" He stuck out his hand to Nick. Nick shook it. "Good to see you again, Nick," he said.

"Good to see you too, sir," he replied. He glanced at the double doors. "Um, what happened exactly?"

"Well, the driver of the car said that it was raining really heavily, and he could barely see the road. He was trying to find a place to stop and wait until the rain calmed down a bit, but all the parking spaces were full, so he kept driving. He was trying really hard to see the road, but it was getting harder and harder. Then, he said he was almost home when Miley ..." Mrs. Stewart's words caught in her throat and she turned around, starting to cry.

"That's when, uh, Miley ran into the middle of the road. She didn't see or hear him coming. Then ... he hit her," Mr. Stewart finished, looking down.

Nick bit his lip and looked at the ground. Her parents were in so much pain and there was nothing anyone could do for them. He and Joe sat down beside Demi. Nick quickly wiped away a stray tear and looked at his brother.

"Joe, this is all my fault," he whispered.

"What? Of course it isn't. You mustn't blame yourself, Nick. Miley wouldn't want it," Joe replied.

"Stop talking about her like she's already dead, Joe," Nick snapped. "And yes, it is my fault. If I hadn't argued with her, she wouldn't have run off and she wouldn't have run into the road and she wouldn't be here right now!" Nick buried his face in his hands. "I was stupid enough to make that comment about girls in the first place."

Joe patted Nick's back comfortingly. "Nick, come on. How were you supposed to know that the rain would get that bad? You didn't know that she would go into the road. You didn't know that the driver was going to hit her. It was all an accident," he said. He paused for a moment. "You know, I remember when we were little, you and I were arguing over who broke some toy car." Joe chuckled and smiled at the thought of his story. "I remember you blamed me for everything. And do you remember what Miley said to you?" When Nick didn't reply, Joe smiled again. "She said, 'Not everything has to be somebody's fault.' Just like this. This is nobody's fault. It's just a case of bad weather and bad timing. Miley was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all."

Nick nodded and looked up. "I guess so. Thanks, Joe," he replied.

Joe grinned at his younger brother. "You don't think so, you know so. And you're welcome, little bro," he replied. He stood up and walked over to Miley's parents. "So, what injuries does she have?"

"Way to be blunt, Joe," Jackson snapped from his chair. "We're worried sick about Miley, and all you want to know is what injuries she has? Never mind her injuries. I'm more worried about her life." Jackson stood up and stormed out of the waiting room. Sara jumped up and scuttled after him with a worried expression on her face.

Mrs. Stewart glanced at her retreating son's figure before turning back to Joe. "She has a severe head injury from when she hit the ground. She has a broken leg, a few broken ribs and a broken arm."

Joe nodded and sat back down in his seat. Nick bit his lip. She sounded as though she was going to be in a lot of pain. But none of that explained why she would be in surgery. Sure, the head trauma would be bad, but, depending on the type of injury, she may not even need surgery for that. It had to be something else. Otherwise, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart would have just told him.

As Nick was thinking, the double doors opened. The five remaining people in the waiting room looked up and saw a man in a white coat. They all stood up and looked at the doctor. The doctor cleared his throat and held his clipboard to his side.

"Miley Stewart?"

"That's our daughter," Mrs. Stewart said quickly. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Your daughter is going to be just fine, ma'am. Hopefully, she won't remember the accident happening. Sometimes people black out when it comes to these things and the only remember up to a certain point on the day of the accident." The doctor glanced at his clipboard again. "Miley is still unconscious right now from the surgery, but she should be awake in a while. Whenever she wakes up, one person at a time can go in and see her." He looked at Miley's parents and motioned for them to come closer. He murmured something to them before backing away and walking back through the double doors.

Mr. Stewart smiled at Nick. "I think Miles would like to see her best friend first, don't you, Nick?" he suggested. He gently pushed Nick towards the double doors.

Nick glanced back at Demi, Joe and Miley's parents. He sighed and turned back to the double doors. He slowly pushed the right one open and began to walk down the hallway. He soon found Miley's room and opened the door.

His jaw dropped when he saw her. Her leg and arm both had casts on them. She had bandages on her head. She had cuts and bruises all over her. She looked like the accident had been pretty bad.

Nick slowly walked over to the chair by her bed and sat down. He gently took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it. He watched her as tears came to her eyes. Even in her worst state possible, she still managed to look beautiful.

"Look at you, Miley. You're a mess. How did this happen to you?" he whispered, his voice shaky as he squeezed her hand slightly. "Why did you have to run away? If you had just come inside, you'd be fine. But we had to fight, didn't we?" He chuckled slightly, even though there was nothing funny about the situation they were in. "We had to fight over something stupid, just like we always do ..." He trailed off and looked away.

When he looked back at Miley, she was still lying peacefully in the bed, still not awake, much to Nick's disappointment. He squeezed her hand and leaned over her. He kissed her forehead and stood up. He smiled to himself as he gently ran his fingers through her long, brown curls.

"I love you." he whispered.

Those three words were simple but behind them, there was a world of meaning. A lifetime of memories and reasons as to why they were said.

Moments after the words escaped Nick's lips, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. He walked down the hallway and out through the waiting room without so much as a word to Joe, Demi and Mr and Mrs Stewart. He walked back down towards the floor's reception and to the elevator. He passed Jackson and Sara as he walked through the lobby on the ground floor. He passed a crying little girl, carried by her father, in the parking lot. He passed an old woman who was hobbling towards the hospital with only a smile on her face.

Nick got into his car and sat down in the driver's seat. He slammed the door behind him. He went to get his keys from his pocket, but he remembered Joe still had them.

He didn't know why, but at that moment, everything that had happened affected him. He pressed his forehead against the steering wheel and let all his emotions escape as the tears began to cascade down his cheeks. The only noise that could be heard in the car was the sobs coming from his shaking body.

**HELLOOOOOO. Aw, poor Nick :( Tell me what you thought in a review (: Questions ... hmmm. Okay. 1) What did you think of Nick and Sara's little ... encounter in the elevator? I don't really know what else to ask about the story other than what you thought about it, so just leave me your thoughts and opinions. Any things that you think I could improve on, let me know. Sha, so now a person question ... Okay, what is your favourite movie(s)? Mine's probably A Cinderella Story (: I freaking love that movie. Sorry it's been like nearly two weeks. But I was in Lake Tahoe with my friends from last Friday until like Wednesday morning, so I didn't really write then. Then when I got home I just had to add in the finishing touches and voila (: Here it is. I think that's it.  
**

**OH. Follow my Twitter.  
My account is **/jumpthenfallx  
**Also, follow me on Tumblr.  
My username is **itsonlylife  
**Ask me anything at all on Formspring.  
The username is **xjumpthenfallx

**I think that's it. So leave me some lovely reviews (: Send me a PM if you'd like (: I love meeting new people. Um ... follow me on the Twitter, Tumblr and Formspring accounts listed above. I think that's it. Bye (: Hope you enjoyed.  
**


	7. Author's Note

Hi.

Okay, so I don't like the way Critical is going, to be honest. I imagined it completely different, but I think I wrote it the wrong way. Now, writing it feels like a chore and it feels like it's boring, when I LOVE to write.

SO. I have three choices for you. I don't really know which one I think I should do, so I'm asking all of you (: Leave a review telling me what you think by Wednesday 8th September (I think that's the date) with your opinion and the one with the most votes is what I'll do.

M'kay, here we go -

**1. Go on a break from writing Critical** – If I went on a break, I don't know if I'd come back to it. I might never go back to it. I know this story has a lot of fans and I wouldn't want to be bugged all the time with "WHEN ARE YOU CONTINUING CRITICAL?" or stuff like that. If I went on a break, there'd be a 50/50 chance of me not continuing the story, and I don't think many people like uncertainty.

**2. Finish Critical and write a new story** – There are lots of story ideas floating around in my head, so it's not like you'd be left hanging for like a year. All I have to do if this option is chosen is pick which story I'm going to do and start writing. So ... yeah.

**3. Leave FanFiction altogether and start writing somewhere else** – If I left FF, I'd continue to write on Tumblr, on my account (itsonlylifexx), or Wordpress, where I'd open an account. I'd stop writing about Disney stars because, to be honest, I've been writing about Disney stars for 2 or 3 years now, and it's getting a bit old. I'd use all my own characters. That would allow to develop their personalities and things like that.

SO. Leave me a review telling me what you think. I'd really appreciate it (: Thanks. Okay, byeee xx


	8. Chapter 7

**I'm going to finish Critical, then I'll decide whether or not to keep writing on here. Deal?**

After about half an hour later, Miley's parents, Joe and Demi heard footsteps coming along the corridor again. They all looked up expectantly, wondering who it was. Sara and Jackson had been gone for ages, and nobody knew where Nick had run off to.

As the footsteps grew closer, the group became more and more interested in who the person was. After a few moments, Joe's parents came into the waiting room and smiled at Joe, Demi and Miley's parents.

"Hello," his mother, Denise, said. She smiled and walked over to Miley's mother, Tish. They hugged each other tightly. Denise pulled away and sent a sympathetic smile towards her friend. "How is she?" she asked.

Tish shook her head. "Still unconscious." She sighed. After a couple of moments, tears welled up in her eyes. "I just want my baby girl to be okay, you know?" She sniffed and buried her face in her hands.

"Aw, honey," Denise soothed, rubbing Tish's back. "Miley will be just fine. She's a strong girl surrounded by people who love her. She'll make it through this. Don't you worry," she said. She looked around after a moment. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "Where's Nicholas?" she asked Joe.

Joe shrugged in reply.

"Um, he rushed out of here about a half hour ago, Mrs G. He didn't say anything to us. He just ran out of here after he came out of Miley's room. No one knows where he is or what happened in there. All we know is that Miley can't have said anything," Demi responded.

Denise nodded, taking a seat between Joe and Tish. Her husband, Paul, came and sat beside Miley's dad, Billy Ray.

After a few moments of silence, Nick walked into the room. He looked upset. Everyone could tell just by looking at him that he had been crying, but no one dared say a word about it. Nick didn't cry. Nobody had seen him cry in years.

Demi smiled and stood up. She walked over and hugged him tightly. "You okay, Nick?" she whispered.

Nick nodded and pulled away. He glanced at Tish. "Is she awake yet?" Tish shook her head. Nick sighed and sat down beside Joe. "Why hasn't she woken up yet? She needs to wake up ..." He trailed off, his voice breaking as he spoke. He looked away to avoid having anyone see him upset.

Demi rubbed Nick's back and bit her lip. "Miley's going to be fine. I'm sure she'll be awake soon." When Nick didn't reply, she sighed and stood up. "Okay. Everyone stop moping around. Yes, Miley's injured. But you know Miles. She's strong. She'll be just fine. Just you wait and see." Demi glanced at the double doors leading to Miley's hospital room. "She'll be just fine," she whispered.

Tish and Denise smiled at the three teenagers sitting before them. It amazed them how mature they were. They were still so young, yet they understood what exactly was happening and they handled it all so well.

Tish stood up and took a deep breath. "I'm going in to see Miley," she said. She smiled slightly at her husband and walked through the double doors to see her little girl.

After a few moments, Jackson and Sara walked in together. Sara was clutching onto Jackson's arm while Jackson led her into the room, looking straight ahead. When they saw everyone else, Jackson's eyes narrowed in Nick's direction. He then realised his father was watching and sat down with Sara at the other end of the room.

"Well, this is awkward," muttered Joe.

Demi elbowed him hard in the stomach. He yelped and glared at her. She smiled innocently and got up.

"I'm going to look for a place to get some coffee or something. Anyone else want to come?" she asked.

Joe and his parents stood up and began to leave with her. They heard a squeal and they all turned to see Sara walking after them. When they gave her a dirty look, she smiled at them like she didn't notice or even care.

"I'd like some coffee," she said. She turned around and smiled sweetly at Jackson. "Want some, baby?"

Jackson nodded and folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Nick.

Demi, Joe and Sara all left the waiting room. The only people left were Jackson, Nick and Billy Ray. Billy Ray felt the tension in the room and stood up. He followed his wife down to Miley's room without a word to his daughter's best friend and his son.

Jackson stood up, still glaring at Nick. "Who the hell do you think you are, talking to my fiancé like that? You think it's your place to comment on my sister's relationship with Sara? You don't care about Miley. Not one bit. In fact, you're the reason she's in this mess. She could DIE, Nick, and it would all be your fault," he spat, stepping closer to Nick as he spoke.

Jackson's comments felt like a knife twisting in Nick's stomach. He stood up with an angry expression on his face and stepped closer to Jackson. "Listen to me. You may be Miley's brother, but that doesn't mean you know what's best for her. You think you know her better than anyone else, but you don't. Did you know that Miley hates Sara? Did you know that she likes to listen to Train when she's looking at the stars at night? Did you know that she freaks out every time she has a math test because she's afraid of disappointing you and your parents? No, you didn't. Because you spend every fucking SECOND with your girlfriend. Ever since you've been with Sara, Miley has felt like she doesn't exist any more," he snapped.

Jackson's face tightened, and he raised his fist to hit Nick.

Nick chuckled. "Go on, then. Hit me. See what good it will do. Just because you know I'm right but you're too scared to admit it." When Jackson lowered his fist, his eyes still narrowed, Nick smirked. "Knew you wouldn't go through with it." He turned to follow the others for some coffee, but then turned back to face Jackson. "Maybe instead of hitting her best friend, you should think about what Miley wants. What she thinks of Sara. Maybe then you'll see that all this is driving her insane." With those words, Nick turned around and went in the direction his parents, Demi, Joe and Sara went.

In Miley's room, Tish and Billy Ray were standing beside their daughter's bed, watching her as she lay there so peacefully. Tish looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes.

"Our baby will be okay, won't she?"

Billy Ray placed a hand on his wife's shoulder and squeezed gently, not taking his eyes off his little girl's closed eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to make himself believe that it was all a dream. When he realised it definitely wasn't, he looked at his wife.

"I wish I knew, sweetheart," he whispered.

Tears began to fall down Tish's cheeks at Billy Ray's words. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Billy Ray's eyes went back to his little princess lying in the bed before him.

Not knowing how to calm his sobbing wife, he did the only thing he could think of. He pulled Tish in towards him and wrapped his arms around her protectively, allowing her to sob into his chest, not once taking his eyes on Miley's sleeping body in the bed.

When Tish calmed down slightly, she looked back at Miley.

"My baby," she whispered.

Billy Ray rubbed her back. He then walked around the bed and looked out the window at the cars below. It was still pouring rain outside. He could definitely see how the driver didn't see Miley.

He kept his eyes on the cars below. He couldn't believe that one of those inventions had hit his little girl. That one of those things had nearly killed his princess. That one of those things had nearly ruined his life.

He turned and faced his wife again.

"She's lucky to be alive," he said softly.

Tish nodded, stroking her daughter's hand as she sat down in the chair beside the bed. She didn't take her eyes off Miley. Her eyes were still filled with tears as she watched her little girl. She knew that, when she woke up, she would be in pain. She knew she'd have a lot of people wanting to see her.

Looking at her daughter, all she wanted to do was go back in time and protect her from that car that had hit her. She wanted to stop her from going out that morning with her friends. Maybe if she had stopped her or if she had told her to come home right after breakfast, she would be okay. Maybe she would be sitting on the living room couch, watching movies with Demi and eating popcorn.

Billy Ray moved away from the window and took Tish's free hand. "Tish," he said gently. "Let's go wait out in the waiting room, darlin'. I think we should just wait for her to wake up out there." He tried to pull her away from Miley, but Tish stayed where she was.

She glanced up at Billy Ray. "You go on out and wait with the others. I'll be out in a minute," she said.

Billy Ray nodded and left the room. He glanced back at his wife through the window into the room from the hallway. She was just sitting there, staring at Miley. He eventually decided to leave her to her own devices and walked back to the waiting room.

Inside the room, Tish smiled to herself as she remembered what Miley was like when she was only a little girl. Nick, Joe, Demi and her had been inseparable back then. Miley never stopped smiling when she spoke of them. All she ever talked about was Nick and Demi and Joe, her best friends forever. What she had said back then had turned out to be true. She had been best friends with them for years. They were just as close, if not closer, now than they were before.

"Miley," Tish said softly, clutching her daughter's hand. "Miley, baby. I love you so much, sweetie ... Please wake up. I need my little girl by my side." She paused, wondering whether or not Miley could hear her. Hoping that she could, she spoke. "Nick needs you too, sweetheart. He's devastated. He blames himself." She paused again. "He loves you, Mi. More than anything. He hasn't said anything to anyone, but anyone can tell by just looking at the boy." Tish smiled softly, thinking about her daughter's friendship with Nick. "You're his world, princess."

The room was silent except for the beeping of all the machines Miley was hooked up to.

Then, in that moment, when all was silent and nothing in the room moved, Tish felt something move in her hand. She looked down. Miley had twitched her hand.

Billy Ray sat down in the waiting room with his son. The waiting room was silent. They didn't know what to do or say to each other. Everyone else was down getting coffee.

At that moment, the double doors burst open and Tish came in panting. "M-MILEY!" she yelled.

Billy Ray jumped to his feet and rushed to his wife's side. "What about Miley?" he asked, worried. He hoped she was okay. He took his wife's hand and looked at her. She was ... smiling. "Is Miley okay?" he asked.

Tish grinned and nodded. "We need to find a doctor. Miley's twitched her hand, Billy Ray. She twitched her hand! I was talking to her and then I felt her twitch. Does that mean she'll be awake soon?" she exclaimed.

Billy Ray smiled. The doctor had told them that he knew she would be okay, but they had always had a bit of doubt. They always were thinking of the worst case scenario so they wouldn't get their hopes up. The doctor was right. Miley was going to be just fine.

**Kind of short, I know. It's only like 2000 words. But whatever. It'll do for now. I'll update again soon. I know it's been a while since there's been a proper update with a chapter and stuff, but it's been a rough few weeks. One of my best guy friends actually got into a car accident on August 30****th****, so we had to go to the funeral on Saturday. Like I said, it's been rough. But we're getting through it, you know? ANYWAY. Moving on. Review please? I found it quite funny that more people had reviewed than ever when I was thinking of stopping. Maybe those people who had never reviewed until then could review? Remember that you can leave an anonymous review if you don't have an account (: I opened a WordPress account. I'm going to write stories on there. Like, non-Disney stories. The username is jumpthenfallx. The link is (http:/)(jumpthenfallx).(wordpress).(com)/. That's without the brackets. Um, also follow me on Twitter (jumpthenfallx) and Tumblr (itsonlylife). Ask me questions on Formspring (xjumpthenfallx) and PM me on here if you want (: I think that's about it. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Reviewwww (: Bye.**


	9. Chapter 8

After a while, everyone was back in the waiting room, waiting to be told whether or not Miley was awake. The parents were talking and drinking coffee in one of the corners. Sara and Jackson were flicking through magazines from the coffee table. Joe and Demi were whispering to each other so softly that no one else in the room could hear. Nick was just staring at the doors that led to Miley's room, waiting.

Joe glanced over at his younger brother. "Nick? You alright there, man?"

Nick glanced at his brother and nodded his head slightly. He looked around and saw Jackson glaring at him from the far side of the room. He saw Demi looking at him with a worried expression. He saw the parents glancing at him every so often.

"I'm fine," he murmured, turning his attention back to the doors.

A little bit later, the doors opened and a doctor walked out, wearing a white coat and jotting something down onto his clipboard. He looked up and around at the people in the waiting room. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and smiled at them.

"I take it you're Miley's family?" he asked.

Billy Ray and Tish stood up, holding hands. "Yes, we're her parents," Tish said, stepping closer with her husband.

The doctor glanced at his clipboard. "Miley should be awake very soon. The twitch of her hand was a good sign." He smiled up at the people around him. "I think Miley should make a full recovery." His smile faltered slightly as he looked at the clipboard. "However, until Miley wakes up, we can't be sure if she'll have any mental problems after the accident. She had a nasty hit to to the head. In some cases, this causes some ... problems for the victim."

Tish bit her lip. "And if Miley has these problems?"

"Then we'll have to assess her and see how bad it is. We'll have to have some talks with her, explaining her situation and such. If, however, it appears that the problems are ... severe, we may need to keep her here for a while." He glanced around. "_Without_ visitors."

Billy Ray nodded. "And what are the chances of this happening to Miley?" he asked calmly, placing his hand on the small of his wife's back.

"It's different with every patient, sir. We won't be certain until she wakes up," the doctor replied.

"Thank you, doctor," Billy Ray said softly, staring at the white wall behind the doctor.

The doctor turned on his heel and walked back through the double doors to see to his patients. Everyone else just stood where they were in silence.

The silence was broken by Demi. "Mental problems?" she whispered.

"What the fuck does he mean by mental problems?" Joe snapped.

"Joseph! Watch your language!" Denise snapped at her son, glaring at him.

"Well, what did he mean? Is she going to be, like, retarded or something?" Joe asked. Everyone in the room turned to glare at him. He raised his hands in defence. "I'm not being mean! I'm serious!"

"No, she won't be _retarded_, you idiot. That's _you_," Jackson hissed at Joe.

Joe turned around to face Jackson and took a step closer. "Why don't you watch what you're saying, tough guy?" Joe growled.

Jackson also took a step closer, balling his hands up into fists. "Bring it, kid," Jackson replied, raising his arm to punch Joe.

Sara reached out and lowered Jackson's arm. "Stop fighting," she said softly. "Miley wouldn't want her best friend and her brother fighting in the hospital." She smiled sweetly. So sweetly that everyone in the room knew she was being fake.

Demi stepped close to Sara and narrowed her eyes. "What the hell would you know about what Miley would and wouldn't want? You don't even _like_ her. You just pretend to so Jackson won't dump you on your ass and so you can still drain him of everything he's worth," she spat.

Sara smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "You seem like you know everything, huh, little rich girl?" she goaded.

"I know a hell of a lot more than you do," Demi replied. She smirked, watching Sara. "At least I'll actually _graduate _high school. You look like you dropped out before you even had the chance to try." She looked Sara up and down. "You don't have a real job, Sara. You just sit around your fucking apartment and wait for Jackson to bring home his goddamn paycheck."

Sara went to slap Demi, but Denise stepped into the middle. "ENOUGH," she yelled. Her voice was firm. She wasn't a woman to be messed with. The woman looked around at the people in the room. "Is this what all of this has come to? Fighting in the waiting room of a hospital while we wait and see if Miley will be okay? This is unacceptable. I don't care about the differences you have, but you can sort it out away from here. I won't tolerate this kind of behaviour while Miley's parents are trying to pray for their daughter."

Tish smiled at Denise. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Denise knew what she meant.

"All of you apologise to Tish and Billy Ray," Denise commanded. When none of them said anything, she narrowed her eyes at the four of them. "Now," she growled.

"Sorry." The apology was murmured by the four young people as they all looked at the floor.

"Nick -" Joe began, turning to face his brother, but when he looked at the chair Nick had been sitting in, it was empty. "Where's Nick?" Joe asked, looking around the waiting room, but his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"See what you did? You lost Nick," Sara said to Joe and Demi.

Demi opened her mouth to reply, but Jackson interrupted. "Like it matters. He doesn't care about Miley, anyway. He's the reason she's in this situation," he snapped.

Denise opened her mouth to stop the fighting again, but Joe raised his hand to stop her. "Hang on a second, Mom." He turned back to Jackson and took a step closer. "Don't you DARE blame Nick for this. Do you think he wants her to be lying in that hospital bed? Do you think he wants her to have mental problems when she wakes up? You can talk shit to me, Jackson. That's fine. But don't you dare blame my brother for what happened to Miley. That kid loves her with everything in him. If he could go back and step in front of that car, I'm pretty damn sure he would. Maybe you don't know this, since you've been too busy fucking your girlfriend to spend time with your sister, but Nick has been there for Miley ever since you went off with Sara. You think this is Nick's fault? Then get the hell out of this hospital, because no one else will want you here if that's what you think," he said.

Jackson stared at Joe in silence for a few moments. He clearly was speechless. He had no idea what to say back.

Joe smirked, knowing he had won. "Well?"

Jackson took Sara's hand. "Miley is my sister. If anyone should leave, it should be you and your brother," he hissed.

Before Joe could reply, Demi stepped between them. She put her hands on Joe's chest. "Calm down. Let it go. He isn't worth it," she said softly.

Joe nodded. Demi took him by the hand and led him back to the chairs they had been sitting in.

Jackson didn't let it go that easily. He walked over to Joe, pulling Sara with him, and pulled Joe up by the arm. "Listen to me, kid. I won't say this again. Get the hell out of here before I call security," he snapped.

Joe chuckled. "And tell them what, Jackson? There are some mean little teenagers waiting to see if their best friend is alright?" He smirked and put an arm around Demi. "We aren't going anywhere." He looked up at Jackson, the smirk never leaving his face. "And you're meant to be her _older _brother," he said.

It took everything in Jackson to stop himself from hitting Joe. When he felt Sara tug at his shirt, he turned around and walked back over to their seats.

The room was silent. It was awkward. No one knew what to say after the intense fight between Jackson and Joe. Nobody wanted to say the wrong thing in case they offended someone else.

Nick closed the door gently behind him. He turned his head and saw her. She was laying there so peacefully. He didn't want to get in trouble with Jackson for being there, but he had to see her. He slowly walked towards her, stopping when he reached the bed.

He took her hand and sat on the edge.

"Miley ..." His voice was a quiet whisper. He ran his thumb over her palm gently, wondering if even the slightest touch could wake her. He was wrong. Nick sighed and looked at her. "Miles, come on. We need to talk. I've been ... an ass since summer started. I shouldn't have treated you how I did. I should have just talked with you about all of this like an adult." He chuckled. "Me. An adult. Like that will ever happen, right?" When he remembered that she wasn't going to chuckle along with him, his smile turned into a frown. "Can you please wake up? The doctor said you'll be awake soon, I know. But ... I don't know. We need to sort some things out, Mi. You know we do." Nick sighed and buried his face in his hands. "This is all my fault," he whispered. He glanced at Miley one more time and turned around to leave.

He went across the room as quickly as possible. He needed to get away before he broke down. Before he got emotional again. Before he did something he'd regret.

He put his hand on the handle and got ready to go. He glanced around at her one more time and took a deep breath. He needed to get out of there. He knew he did. What good would hanging around and just watching her lay there do him?

He turned around again and opened the door to leave. He took a step forward, his eyes lightly closed as he pictured Miley in his head.

Just as he began to walk away, he heard a frail voice behind him, gently saying his name. He spun around in shock, not quite sure what was going on. When he saw, his jaw dropped.

"Miley."

**WELL HELLO THERE. Don't kill me. I know I'm horrible at updating lately. But I'll try and update sooner next time. No promises, but I'll try. I've just had a lot of work and a lot of personal problems these last few weeks. All sorted now, though. I'm so so so sorry this took like 3 weeks to put up. **

**ANYWAY. What did you guys think of the chapter? Not my best, I know. I've been working on it gradually over the last two weeks, but it never seemed just right so I always ended up deleting it and heading back to scratch. Eventually I just felt really bad for not posting so I settled on this. Don't hate me for it. Yeah ... **

**Any new songs/movies/books you guys can suggest for me? I get pretty bored when I'm up at like 4am doing pretty much nothing but homework and talking to my European friends on Twitter/AIM/MSN. So yeah ... suggest some movies and books and music for me. **

**You dudes can follow me on Twitter - jumpthenfallx. You can also check me out on Tumblr - itsonlylifexx – or ask me some questions on my Formspring - xjumpthenfallx. I'm pretty much always tweeting, haha. I try to answer pretty much everything on Formspring, as long as it isn't one of those really creepy questions. They're really, well, creepy.**

**I think that's about it. Again, sorry for the really long wait, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Hopefully it'll be longer next time. Leave me a review and tell me what you think :) Speaking of review - WE HIT 100! Thanks, guys :) I love you. I'll update ASAP :) Bye.**


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